Risk Level and the MMPI-2 Profile of Individuals with a History of Sexual Offending

The purpose of this study was to assess whether there is a relationship between sexual recidivism risk and personality in individuals with history of sexual offending. Personality characteristics and risk levels were measured using 4, 8, and 9 MMPI-2 scales and Static-99, respectively. The participants were individuals incarcerated in Alberta for sexual crimes (N = 535) who were enrolled in the Phoenix Treatment Program. Zero-order correlations were examined between MMPI-2 scales and Static-99. A MANOVA showed significantly higher scores on the combined MMPI-2 scales for high risk individuals when compared to the low risk group. A discriminant analyses indicated that the effect sizes of the relationship between the scales 4 and 9 with risk scores were larger than the effect size of the relationship between the scale 8 and risk scores. These findings could benefit clinicians in treatment planning for individuals with previous sexual offending behaviours.