A personality‐based taxonomy of sexually abusive adolescents derived from the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI)

Abstract

A personality-based taxonomy of an out-patient sample of 112 sexually abusive adolescents is described. Five subgroups were derived from cluster analytic procedures applied to Personality Patterns scales scores from the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI), and were named: Normal, Antisocial, Submissive, Dysthymic/Inhibited, and Dysthymic/Negativistic. The groups were also found to be differentiated on the psychopathology scales of the MACI. The results of the study provide evidence of the heterogeneity of adolescent sexual abusers in both personality characteristics and psychopathology. Comparison of groups differentiated on the basis of victim characteristics did not indicate a relationship between personality and sexual offence.

Behavioural profiles and offender characteristics: Typology based on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in homicide cases

“…Suggested by Richardson et al (2004), cluster 2 (antisocial group) in the study has shared somewhat similar characteristics with "antisocial type" personality (also Biro, Vuckovic, & Djuric, 1992; aggressive personalities) as the offenders within this group were highly deviant, giving a wide range of deviant personality, characteristics such as irresponsibility and hostility toward people. This group might be possibly related to psychopathic traits (see ; see also Biro et al, 1992;Cox et al, 2013) who are more extraverted, extra-punitive and impulsive, simultaneously showing some of subjective distress frustrated by the punishment in prison.…”

“…Last, cluster 5 (isolated group) was similar to "dysthymic/inhibited type" (Richardson et al, 2004) and inhibited type to some extent as most of offenders were socially alienated from others or not accompanied with supportive persons therefore causing social-withdrawal. Smith et al (1987) also suggested similar cluster which is shy, emotionally isolated and alienated based on a cluster analysis.…”

“…Previous studies based on clusters of homicide personality characteristics using the MMPI (Megargee, 1966(Megargee, , 1973(Megargee, , 1977Blackburn, 1968Megargee & Bohn, 1977;McGurk, 1978;Holcomb, Adams, & Ponder, 1985;Biro, Vuckovic, & Djuric, 1992;Richardson et al, 2004;Loper et al, 2001) preliminarily suggested that offenders could be divided into several types of classification; for example, two to five types: "over-controlled" and "under-controlled"; "paranoid-aggressive," normal; "depressive-inhibited," "over-controlled repressors," and "psychopathic"; hallucinations, disorientation, hostility, depression, and paranoid thinking. ; normal, antisocial, submissive, dysthymic/Inhibited and dysthymic/negativistic.…”

Youths who sexually harm: A multivariate model of behaviour

“…Further statistical analysis carried out by Smith et al (1987), Worling (2001) and Richardson et al (2004) found that there were no significant differences in the distribution of personality clusters within the different offence types in terms of the victim age, gender or relationship with the youth. Worling also found that there were no differences between the personality clusters with regard to sexual recidivism.…”

“…From a sample of 112 youths, Worling (2001) also used cluster analysis to derive a personality-based typology very similar to Smith et al's (1987) groups. Recently, Richardson, Kelly, Graham and Bhate (2004) produced a personality-based taxonomy of a sample of 112 youths, using cluster analysis and the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). They argue that there are five subgroups of young person with HSB: (1) normal, (2) antisocial, (3) submissive, (4) dysthymic/inhibited and (5) dysthymic/negativistic.…”