Personality Characteristics of Adolescent Sexual Offenders: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This study compared the personality characteristics of adolescent sexual offenders by examining the extent, if any, to which personality differences exist between adolescents who offend against their peers and adolescents who offend against young children. The sample consisted of 36 adolescent offenders (16 peer offenders and 20 child offenders) committed to Virginia's Department of Youth and Family Services. Subjects were administered the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) and compared on six of its subscales. The results suggest that adolescent child offenders are more schizoid, dependent, and avoidant than adolescent peer offenders. Such results may be helpful in designing treatment programs for these subtypes of adolescent sexual offenders.