The purpose of this study was to develop a personality-based typology of preadolescents with sexual behavior problems based the Emerging Personality Patterns in the Millon Preadolescent Clinical Inventory (M-PACI, Millon et al., 2005). Grounding a typology in a theory driven personality system may offer clarity and specificity in understanding preadolescents with sexual behavior problems in a manner that has not yet been explored. A personality and theory driven typology could provide a more comprehensive framework for assessing and treating children who sexually abuse than any of the current taxonomic models.
The study used an ex post facto design with test of hypotheses. The research hypotheses were derived through logical and empirical data findings. A sample of thirty-one participants were administered the M-PACI and a mental health professional completed a demographics and clinical information form on each participant. The participants scores on the M-PACI resulted in them being placed into one of three Emerging Personality Patterns groups, Active, Passive, or Unstable. These three groups were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) on seven dependent variables.
Results indicated that Active and Unstable Emerging Personality Patterns participants had significantly higher levels of maltreatment experiences and significantly more Current Clinical Signs as measured by the M-PACI, than the Passive Emerging Personality Patterns group. The results indicate that personality is a useful variable in differentiating preadolescents with sexual behavior problems. The implications for this study lend support for the conceptualization of preadolescents with sexual behavior using a personality based typology
