MMPI-based personality types among juvenile sexual offenders

The MMPIs of 262 adolescent males who committed sexual offenses were categorized by means of cluster analysis into four distinct groups. Each of these groups was found to contain different two‐point code types. Referral offense, historical and clinical data were compared for each of the four cluster groups and for each of the two‐point code types; the latter provided more reliable discrimination among groups. The four modal personality types suggested by the cluster analysis indicate, contrary to previous research, that juvenile sexual offenders are a heterogeneous group who represent a wide variety of personality traits and levels of adaptation.