Mobster.The word conjures images of someone who has no problem giving an enemy a pair of cement shoes and throwing them in the river—and doing so without remorse.
脑中一浮现出歹徒这个词就会让人想到给敌人穿上一双水泥鞋扔到河里喂鱼的情景,而且根本没有一点悔恨念头。
In other words, a psychopath.
换句话说,干这勾当的人就是个变态。
But it turns out that many mobsters are actually less psychopathic than other criminals.
但一项研究表明相比罪犯实际上多数歹徒的精神状况要更好。
Researchers interviewed 30 Mafiosi incarcerated in Italy, and another 39 prisoners who were not involved in organized crime.
研究人员们特地采访了在意大利被拘禁着的30名黑手党成员,以及39名非涉嫌集团犯罪的在押犯。
The inmates'responses were then rated against a standard psychological test, called the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised.
调查访问之后研究人员会进行标准心理测试评估,也就是所谓的精神变态测试。
None of the Mafia members scored higher than a 30, the generally accepted threshold for psychopathy, and only 10 percent had scores that would classify them as moderately psychopathic.
没有一名黑手党成员的得分高于一般精神病基本判定的30分,而且只有10%的黑手党罪犯被认为是中度精神病患者。
Meanwhile, more than half of the non-Mafia men rated as either moderately or severely psychopathic.
同时,结果表明超过一半以上的非黑手党都不是中度或者高度精神病患者。
Mafia membership was also associated with low substance abuse and high family commitment.
黑手党成员身份也同药物滥用度低且高度关注家庭联系起来。
The study appears in Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health.
这项研究已在《犯罪行为与精神健康》杂志上发表。
The researchers say the findings point to new hope for resocializing convicted mafia members.
研究人员表示这一结果对已被判定有罪的黑手党成员重返社会带来了曙光。
So that they might permanently “leave the gun…take the cannoli.”
也许他们会从此永远的“放下武器…拿起奶油甜馅煎饼卷。”