Differentiating Offenders by Index Offense and Personality Inventories

• Author: Joshua M. Weiss,Mally Shechory,Rachel Weinstain
• Date: 01 March 2013
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X11428316
• Published date: 01 March 2013
• Subject Matter: Articles

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

57(3) 312 –331

© The Author(s) 2011

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X11428316

ijo.sagepub.com

428316IJO57310.1177/0306624X11428316Shecho

ry et al.International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology

1Ariel University Center of Samaria, Israel

2Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

3Israel Prison Service, Israel

4Ashkelon Academic College, Israel

5Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services, Israel

Corresponding Author:

Mally Shechory, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Ariel, 44837, Israel.

Email: mally@bezeqint.net

Differentiating Offenders

by Index Offense and

Personality Inventories:

The Characteristics

of Adult Probationers

in Israel

Mally Shechory1,2, Joshua M. Weiss3,4,

and Rachel Weinstain5

Abstract

The current study examines the differences between four groups of offenders (N = 230)

according to the type of crime they committed: domestic violence, sex offenses,

traffic violations, and nonspecific violence offenses. The study was conducted on the

offenders undergoing treatment in the Israeli Adult Probation Service. A comparison

between the groups included an examination of the differences in aggression levels,

anxiety levels, and two Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2)

scales—the Psychopathic Deviate (PD-4) and the Antisocial Practices (ASP) scales.

The findings provide a glimpse of the features that characterize each group, in relation

to each other and in relation to the body of literature. The domestic violence group

differed from the other groups in most of the research variables. They were found to

have low anxiety levels and high aggression levels. Together with other findings that

pointed to antisocial practices and attitudes, this group constitutes a population that

is violent and aggressive to a far greater extent compared with the other groups. Sex

offenders were found to be a unique group that does not fit in the “classic offenders”

category. They were found to have low aggression levels and high anxiety levels and

Shechory et al. 313

their scores on PD-4 and ASP scales were low compared with the other groups. The

traffic group was characterized with typically low levels of anxiety and high levels

of physical aggression. This group also obtained high scores on ASP scale and the

measure that examined confrontation with authority figures. Finally, study findings did

not indicate characteristics that typify the nonspecific violence offenses.

Keywords

index offense, anxiety, aggression, PD-4, ASP

Introduction

The inclusion of therapeutic programs in law enforcement and criminal justice sys-

tems is common practice in many countries. The programs’ main goals are public

protection alongside offender rehabilitation and recidivism prevention (Doren, 2002;

Edwards & Hensley, 2001; Shechory, Ben-David, & Idisis, 2008; Wexler, 1996).

Achievement of these goals requires adapting treatment methods to offenders’ unique

characteristics, individual personalities, and criminogenic factors (Birgden, 2004;

Chambers, Ward, Eccleston, & Brown, 2009; Shechory & Ben-David, 2005; Shechory

et al., 2008; Rossi & Sloore, 2008).

Various studies have established a connection between personality traits and

deviant behaviors. For example, a study conducted by Benning and his colleagues

(Benning, Patrick, Hicks, Blonigen, & Krueger, 2003) on the variables involved in

psychopathic personality formation (antisocial personality disorders) indicated a con-

nection between aggression and psychopathic personality disorders, and a study by

Valliant and his colleagues (Valliant, Dewit, & Bowes, 2004) on aggression differ-

ences between individuals convicted of family violence, of violence outside the fam-

ily, and of property offenses found that aggression may be a differentiating factor

between the different offenses.

Personality is of central importance when creating treatment programs, which should

focus and be based on processes and goals derived from the assessed client needs.

Among offenders, such an assessment is even more crucial. There is much literature

that discusses the importance of adapting treatment programs to offender characteris-

tics. For example, Lovins, Lowenkamp, and Latessa (2009) found that treatment levels

need to be commensurate with risk factors and that intense treatment for low-risk sex

may in fact be detrimental and contribute to reoffending. This model is consistent with

Andrews and Bonta’s (2006) risk/needs model, which directs the clinician to assess the

offender’s risk level before delivering the appropriate treatment or, in their words, the

appropriate “level of service.”

The current study aims to examine the differences between four groups of offend-

ers according to the type of crime they committed: domestic violence, sex offenses,

traffic violations, and nonspecific violence. The study was conducted on offenders

undergoing treatment in the Israeli Adult Probation Service. The probation service is