The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory in the Assessment of Juvenile Offenders
McConville, David W., Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Virginia
Cornell, Dewey G., Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
Loper, Ann, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
Sheras, Peter, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
Ball, Donald W., Curry School of Education, University of Virginia
This study examined the utility of the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) in the assessment of 135 incarcerated juvenile offenders. The three primary research questions were: (1) What is the MACI profile for juvenile offenders? (2) Are there distinctive characteristics in the MACI profiles of aggressive offenders, chronic offenders, or sex offenders? (3) Do juvenile offenders with mood disorder, conduct disorder, or substance abuse disorder have distinguishing MACI profiles? This study also investigated the factor structure of the MACI and compared results using factor scores versus individual MACI scales.
Participants in this study were 135 volunteer adolescents admitted to a centralized intake facility for the state juvenile correctional center in Richmond, Virginia. The participants ranged in age from 13 to 18, with a mean age of 16 years. Each participant completed the MACI during their initial intake period. MACI results were compared with clinical data gathered by the institution's Behavioral Services Unit staff, including psychiatric diagnosis, history of drug and alcohol use, and offense history. Researchers also coded violent offense history and institutional infractions for violent behavior. Clinical staff members completed a modified version of the Observed Aggression Scale.
An exploratory factor analysis of MACI scales revealed a three-factor solution for Personality Patterns, and two factor solutions for Expressed Concerns and Clinical Syndromes scales. The factors accounted for 82, 66, and 780f the variance respectively. Theoretically related factors were correlated with outcome criteria related to mental health problems (.18 to .39) and offense history characteristics (.18 to .28). MACI factors were able to classify offenders with mood disorders, conduct disorders, and substance abuse problems with moderate accuracy (65 to 78%). Factors adequately discriminated between violent offenders, sex offenders, and chronic offenders (58 to 82%). The results of this study support the MACI as a useful instrument for clinicians working in juvenile offender institutions.
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PHD (Doctor of Philosophy)
MACI profiles, juvenile offenders
Digitization of this thesis was made possible by a generous grant from the Jefferson Trust, 2015.
Thesis originally deposited on 2016-02-18 in version 1.28 of Libra. This thesis was migrated to Libra2 on 2017-03-23 16:37:50.
English
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
2004/01/01
