Self-reported criminal and anti-social behavior on a dating site: the importance of cognitive ability
Open Differential Psychology , Jan. 10, 2018, ISSN: 2446-3884
The relationship between criminal and antisocial (CAS) behaviors and cognitive ability (CA) were examined in a large online sample of dating site users (complete sample n = 68,371). 12 question items were found that measured CAS to some degree. Of these, 11 showed a negative relation to CA. The answers to the CAS items were all positively related, suggesting the existence of a general factor of CAS behavior. Scores for this factor were estimated using multiple methods. The resulting scores were then subjected to a series of regression models to examine whether the link between CA and CAS would hold up in the presence of other predictors. The results showed that the link between CA and CAS scores was robust to model specifications with standardized betas of -.15 to -.20. Furthermore, a CA x sex interaction was found such that the CA x CAS relationship was stronger for men (r’s -.20 and -.13, for men and women, respectively).
