...and one of the things that plays into that "personality" type is how they feel about themselves. It's a very common pattern that when people are treated bet

...and one of the things that plays into that "personality" type is how they feel about themselves. It's a very common pattern that when people are treated better than what they think they deserve, they feel uncomfortable, and subconsciously do something to sabotage things, so that things go back to the expected and familiar. (I'm preparing to adopt, and that's one of the things we're consistently warned to keep an eye out for: children from chaotic, abusive households doing things to provoke you and make you angry, so that you treat them the way they're used to being treated.) People are complicated and it's difficult to find individual causes; and everyone responds to things differently. I'm not trying to say that everyone who commits crimes just has low self esteem. People have choices; and there are genetic and other environmental factors (exposure to lead being a big one). But it's quite certain that subconscious "I deserve to be punished" motives are a thing.