The role of personality in relation to confessions and denials

The main aim of the study was to replicate a previous study into personality factors associated with confessions and denials. It was hypothesised that antisocial personality traits and active involvement in criminal behaviour would be associated with false confessions and false denials. The participants were 666 university students in Iceland. Each was asked about false admissions made to teachers and parents in the past, as well as about confessions or denials (true and false) made to the police during questioning. The participants completed questionnaires relating to offending and personality. One-quarter (25%) of the participants stated that they had in the past been interrogated by the police in relation to a suspected offence, of whom 54% said they had confessed. The base rate of guilt in the study of those interrogated by the police was 66%. Only two participants (1.2% of those interrogated) claimed to have made false confessions to the police, whereas 6.2% claimed to have made false confessions to teachers or parents at some time in their lives. False confessions to teachers and parents were significantly associated with antisocial personality traits and the extent and seriousness of self-reported delinquency. In conclusion, antisocial personality characteristics, impulsivity, and the extent and seriousness of self-reported delinquency were the most significant predictors of who had a past history of making false confessions to teachers and parents.