Do Criminals Live Faster Than Soldiers and Firefighters?
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Do Criminals Live Faster Than Soldiers and Firefighters? A Comparison of Biodemographic and Psychosocial Dimensions of Life History Theory Monika Kwiek 1
& Przemysław
Piotrowski 2
# The Author(s) 2020
Abstract A high risk of morbidity-mortality caused by a harsh and unpredictable environment is considered to be associated with a fast life history (LH) strategy, commonly linked with criminal behavior. However, offenders are not the only group with a high exposure to extrinsic morbidity-mortality. In the present study, we investigated the LH strategies employed by two groups of Polish men: incarcerated offenders (N = 84) as well as soldiers and firefighters (N = 117), whose professions involve an elevated risk of injury and premature death. The subjects were asked to complete the Mini-K (used as a psychosocial LH indicator) and a questionnaire which included a number of biodemographic LH variables. Although biodemographic and psychosocial LH indicators should be closely linked with each other, the actual connection between them is unclear. Thus, this study was driven by two aims: comparing LH strategies in two groups of men with a high risk of premature morbidity-mortality and investigating the relationship between the biodemographic and psychosocial LH dimensions. The study showed that incarcerated men employed faster LH strategies than soldiers and firefighters, but only in relation to biodemographic variables (e.g., number of siblings, age of sexual initiation, life expectancy). No intergroup differences emerged regarding psychosocial LH indicators. Moreover, the correlation analysis showed a weak association between biodemographic and psychosocial LH indicators. The results strengthen the legitimacy of incorporating biodemographic LH traits into research models and indicate the need for further research on the accuracy of the Mini-K. The possible explanations for the intergroup differences in LH strategies are discussed. Keywords Life history theory . Biodemographic indicators . Psychosocial indicators . Life
expectancy . Criminal behavior
* Monika Kwiek [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
Human Nature
According to life history (LH) theory, a high level of extrinsic morbidity-mortality that elevates the risk of dying prematurely, in that it is unlikely to be avoided by action undertaken by an individual, favors fast LH strategies (Del Giudice et al. 2015; Ellis et al. 2009). Compared with the general population, both criminal offenders and men working in dangerous professions tend to experience higher rates of morbiditymortality (Elonheimo et al. 2017; Fisher et al. 2017; Lindberg et al. 2017; Ma et al. 2005), so they might be viewed as more likely to employ fast LH strategies. However, one of the most common motivations among risk-taking professionals is prosocial concern (Firmin et al. 2018; Woodruff et al. 2006), considered to be a component of a slow LH strategy (Rushton 1990; Sherman et al. 2013). In the current study, we investigate and comp
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