Abstract
Outrage of modesty (OOM) is considered a serious crime in Singapore and offenders are often charged with a period of imprisonment with or without a fine and caning. Previous studies have indicated that non-violent sexual offenders tend to have a socially inhibited personality. No published study has yet been conducted to investigate the personality of OOM offenders. The purpose of the current study was to assess the personality of males charged with outrage of modesty and compare them to a group of males charged with theft using the 16 Personality Factors questionnaire (16PF; Cattell, Eber, and Tatsuoka, 1970).
Participants were selected over a two-year study period from a cohort of prisoners serving sentence at Changi Prison. A total of 30 OOM and 22 theft offenders completed the 16PF. All OOM subjects had been charged for molesting an adult female. Unexpectedly, planned comparisons revealed that OOM subjects had marginally higher scores on Factor H (boldness) compared to theft subjects. Exploratory analyses revealed no other significant differences between OOM and theft subjects. Implications of findings and limitations of the study are discussed.
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