Published and unpublished data from nine studies on juvenile sexual offender treatment effectiveness were summarized by meta-analysis (N=2986, 2604 known male). Recidivism rates for sexual, non-sexual violent, non-sexual non-violent crimes, and unspecified non-sexual were as follows: 12.53%, 24.73%, 28.51%, and 20.40%, respectively, based on an average 59-month follow-up period. Four included studies contained a control group (n=2288) and five studies included a comparison treatment group (n=698). An average weighted effect size of 0.43 (CI=0.33-0.55) was obtained, indicating a statistically significant effect of treatment on sexual recidivism. However, individual study characteristics (e.g., handling of dropouts and non-equivalent follow-up periods between treatment groups) suggest that results should be interpreted with caution. A comparison of odds ratios by quality of study design indicated that higher quality designs yielded better effect sizes, though the difference between groups was not significant.

This article reviews measures of empathy with a focus on the two most recent and widely used measures, the Hogan Empathy Scale and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (QMEE). The development and validity of each scale is discussed as well as the scales' relation to measures of personality and moral conduct and character. Although both the Hogan Empathy Scale and QMME have adequate validity, they seem to measure different aspects of empathy.

A replication and extension of an earlier study (Megargee, 1969) was performed to reassess the part that sex roles play in the assumption of leadership. Megargee's original study indicated that women who had superior leadership ability failed to assert their roles in the presence of males m both masculine and neutral task situations. The current study replicated the masculine task and added a feminine task to assess, respectively, changes that have occurred over the years and the effect of task "gender" on assumption of leadership Subjects were 124 college students who had been pretested on the California Personality Inventory Dominance (Do) scale. Subjects were grouped into high-and low-Do pairs. As m the earlier studies, Do predicted leadership in same-sex pairs. But when the task was "masculine in appearance," high-Do women did not take the leadership role in the presence of men. When the task was modified to appear feminine in nature, Do scores predicted leadership across all groups.

The results suggest that an MHC can be effective in reducing recidivism among offenders with mental illness and also indicate that persons who commit more severe offenses may be appropriate candidates for MHC.

This study examined the base rates, patterns, and configurations of male and female prisoners on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) validity, basic, supplementary, and content scales and compares them with the MMPI-2 adult norms and with the performance of offenders on the original MMPI (S. R. Hathaway & J. C. McKinley, 1943). Expectations as to which scales would show significant and meaningful elevations and effect sizes were generally upheld. The most prominent MMPI-2 scales are Infrequency, 4, 6, 9, MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised, and Antisocial Practices for both genders, and Scales 5 and Addiction Admission Scale among women. Scales 0 and Responsibility scale appeared to be inhibitory scales. Men and women had similar profile configurations, but the female offenders' scores were more deviant than those of the men.On any given day there are over 1 million adult men and women confined in America's state and federal prisons, a 555% increase since 1970 (American Correctional Association, 1998). Accurate, cost-effective assessment and classification procedures are essential for coping with this burgeoning prison population and for optimally allocating scarce correctional resources. If the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) is to contribute to the assessment of prisoners, it is essential that we determine their characteristic MMPI-2 patterns.This study has three goals. The first goal is to examine the base rates, patterns, and configurations of male and female offenders on the MMPI-2 validity, basic, supplementary, and content scales and to compare them with criminals' scores on the original MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1943). The second is to investigate how well the MMPI-2 differentiates criminal offenders from nonoffenders and whether the patterns of differences that emerge are consistent with those previously found on the original MMPI. The third is to compare the MMPI-2 configurations of male and female offenders.

Suicide is a major public health concern with over 100 individuals dying by suicide per day in the United States alone. Therefore, suicide risk assessment is an essential aspect of mental health care. The MMPI-2-RF has a Suicidal/Death Ideation (SUI) scale consisting of 5 items that describe recent suicidal ideation or behaviors. Although this scale has clear face validity, few studies have examined the clinical utility of this scale. The purpose of the current study was to examine associations between the SUI scale and other established measures of suicidal ideation and behavior, including the Depressive Symptom Inventory Suicidality Subscale (DSI-SS), Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS), self-report of lifetime suicide attempts, and clinician ratings of suicide risk. Participants were 998 therapy- and assessment-seeking outpatients. Analyses indicated that the SUI scale was positively associated with other self-reported measures of suicidal ideation and behavior. Significant differences in SUI scale scores also emerged among the clinician rating categories of suicide risk. The SUI scale was able to predict previous suicide attempts over and above age, gender, and other MMPI-2-RF scales related to depression. Finally, relative risk ratios for suicide attempts indicate increased risk of suicidality with higher T-scores on the SUI scale. Overall, findings suggest that the MMPI-2-RF SUI scale may be a useful tool for identifying individuals at risk for suicidal ideation and behavior in clinical settings.

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