Discriminant analysis of high-risk recidivism in criminal offenders based on psychopathological factors from MMPI-2-RF profiles

초록

The present study aimed to identify the critical factors discriminating individuals at high risk for recidivism among criminal offenders based on psychopathological characteristics. Data was collected from 182 violent offenders using psychological testing from prosecutors' offices nationwide in Korea between 2017 and 2022. The offenders were divided into two groups based on the Korean Offender Recidivism Assessment System Scale-General (KORAS-G) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which are two major risk assessments in the Korean criminal justice system. Multiple comparisons were performed using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2nd edition Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), and discriminant function analysis was used to identify the scales with discriminative power and hierarchical structure of relative contribution for the two risk recidivism assessments. This study highlights the utility of MMPI-2-RF in comprehensive assessments for decision-making in sentencing and judgment in the legal system. We discussed violent recidivism in the context of externalizing dysfunction, vulnerabilities in interpersonal relationships, pathological history of misconduct/antisociality and risk-taking motivation. This study calls for attention to the domestic situation of risk assessment and suggests future directions in recidivism prediction with the practical utility of MMPI-2-RF.

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