M. M. P. I. characteristics of chronic criminal offenders

An exploratory study was conducted among inmates of a Canadian penitentiary to determine MMPI characteristics associated with chronic criminality. A criterion group of chronic offenders was compared to a randomly derived group, and significant differences were obtained on three MMPI scales. These differences ceased to become significant in deriving subgroups and applying covariate adjustments in attempting to control for the influence of differences in age and incarceration. Reduction in sample sizes appeared to contribute towards the absence of significant differences among five scales which appeared to differentiate Ss who had low incarceration indices, compared to Ss who had high incarceration indices. Although trends were suggested which may relate to chronic criminality, the incidence of violence appeared to follow a similar trend. In the absence of statistical control, no conclusions were drawn regarding the trends in the scales. The MMPI profile characteristics of the present groups were compared to other criteria groups of psychiatric and prison subjects and the relationships of various scales were examined. Criminal and social characteristics were explored, and Chronic Offenders were found to differ in criminal patterns, place of childhood residence, education, marital status, and employability. Difficulties in the present study were explored and suggestions made for further research.Arts, Faculty ofPsychology, Department ofGraduat