An Examination of the Relationships Between Exposure to Violence, Psychopathic Deviance, and Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders

The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the predictive capabilities of the Psychopathic Deviate scale on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Instrument – Adolescent version (MMPI-A) and the Exposure to Violence subscale on the Juvenile Offender Parent/Guardian Questionnaire (JOPGQ) in determining severity of recidivism among juvenile offenders. After stringent screening procedures, 207 male and female adjudicated youth were included in the sample. Each participant and their guardian completed an intake with a doctoral student in the Juvenile Counseling and Assessment Program (JCAP). As a part of the intake, each adolescent participant took the MMPI-A, and each guardian completed the JOPGQ. Juvenile offense histories including number and types of offenses were examined using the Juvenile Tracking System. Results indicated that the Psychopathic Deviate scale and four of the Harris Lingoes subscales which comprise the clinical scale successfully predicted severity of recidivism among juvenile offenders. Further discussion of the research findings, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed.