NCJ Number
208729
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 39 Issue: 4 Dated: 2004 Pages: 1-13
Editor(s)
Nathaniel J. Pallone Ph.D.
Date Published
2004
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examined the validity of the 1993 Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) in identifying adolescent sex offenders and predicting their recidivism.
Abstract
The Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) developed in 1993 is a technique used to estimate the prognosis or risk of recidivism. The MACI is a standard self-report personality inventory. The ability of the MACI to identify serious adolescent male sexual offenders and to predict their recidivism following treatment was examined. Study participants included 381 students from the Arthur G. Dozier School which has administered the MACI since 1996. MACI scores were evaluated for all 381 adolescent male sexual offenders, over several years, which were adjudicated delinquent for felony crimes and given maximum sentences and diagnosed as conduct-disordered or antisocial behaviored. This group of adolescents represented an extremely delinquent-prone group. It was hypothesized that the MACI mean profile would lead to a diagnosis of only mild conduct disorder. However, the MACI failed to identify the severity of the sample; it had the basic description correct, but it underestimated the severity of the antisocial behavior. In examining the sensitivity and specificity of the MACI for predicting recidivism following treatment, the results indicate that although specificity could be good, sensitivity was quite poor. References