Abstract
This article critically reviewed 16 studies on the demographic and psychological characteristics of white-collar criminals. Some of the more-supported findings imply white-collar offenders are older, Caucasian, employed, and have a high school diploma or higher education. They also tended to be low in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and self-control. The most prominent limitations of the reviewed studies were the lack of a uniform definition of white-collar crime, not controlling for extraneous variables, and failing to control for type I error. Future research needs to explore how female white-collar offenders may be unique from male white-collar offenders. Several psychological variables (e.g., criminal thinking, psychopathy, motivations) could be investigated to further treatment practices.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 373-402 |
Number of pages | 30 |
Journal | Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Criminal thinking
- Demographic variables
- Personality
- White-collar criminals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Applied Psychology