Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

Volume 49 | Issue 5 Article 1

1959

Personality Trends in the Youthful Male OffenderMorris G. Caldwell

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Recommended CitationMorris G. Caldwell, Personality Trends in the Youthful Male Offender, 49 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 405 (1958-1959)

The Journal of

CRIMINAL LAW, CRIMINOLOGY, AND POLICE SCIENCE

VOL 49 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 NO. 5

OCopyright, 1959, By Northwestern University School of Law

PERSONALITY TRENDS IN THE YOUTHFUL MALE OFFENDER

MORRIS G. CALDWELL

The author is Professor of Sociology in the University of Alabama. He was Director of Correc-tions and Member of the State Parole Board in Wisconsin from 1939 to 1943. He is co-author of"Analysis of Social Problems" With Laurence Foster (Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,1954.) He has published numerous articles on criminological topics in scientific and professionaljournals. At the University of Alabama he is Supervisor of Pre-professional Social Work Training,and Editor of the "Alabama Correctional Journal."

Professor Caldwell makes the following acknowledgement: "The study on which this paper isbased was financed by a liberal grant of legislative research funds administered by the Universityof Alabama Research Committee. The paper was presented before the Criminology Section of thejoint session of the American Sociological Society and the Society for the Study of Social Problems,Washington, D. C., August 27, 1957."-EDTOR.

This paper is an exploratory study of personalitytrends in Negro and white youthful male offenders.It is part of a larger research project which involves1,183 youthful male offenders, 16 to 23 years ofage, incarcerated in Alabama's three major maleprisons and 27 correctional road camps during thesix month period, January 1 through June 30,1950. The present paper is a comparative analysisof two groups of offenders of approximately equalsize-228 Negro and 231 white male offenders-comprised within the larger study. The personalitycharacteristics of these two groups have beenmeasured in terms of scores on a standardizedpersonality test. The score results have beenanalyzed by statistical and case methods.

THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS

Criminological literature is replete with studiesof the personality characteristics of delinquents andcriminals.' Most of these deal with delinquents and

I DORA F. CAPEWELL, Personality Patterns of Adoles-cent Girls: II. Delinquents and Non-Delinquents, JOUR.OF APPL. PSYCH. 29 (August, 1945), pp. 289-297. ELIOD. MONACHES, Some Personality Characteristics ofDelinquents and Non-Delinquents, JOUR. or CRIm. L.AND CRIMINOL, 38 (January-February, 1948), pp. 487-500; Personality Characteristics and Socio-FconomicStatus of Delinquents and Non-Delinquents, JOUR. OFCRr,. L. AND CRIMNOL. 40 (January-February, 1950),pp. 570-583; Personality Characteristics of Institutional-iced and Non-Institutionalized Male Delinquents, JOUR.OF CRIm. L. AD CRIMINOL. 41 (July-August, 1950),

non-delinquents, institutionalized and non-insti-tutionalized delinquents, juvenile delinquents andpublic school children, juvenile delinquents, andadolescent girl delinquents. However, there is apaucity of scientific research in the area of ourpresent interest. There is an astounding lack ofobjective data in the area of comparative de-linquency of Negro and white offenders, althoughthe popular opinion widely prevails that certaindifferences do exist between them.

The present vacuum in criminological knowledgein this area provides the setting for the presentstudy and poses the present research problems forinvestigation. The first problem was to discoverand then measure certain general personalitydifferences between Negro and white youthfulmale offenders. The second was to delineate andthen measure important personality differenceswhich exist between Negro and white offenders

pp. 167-179; The Minnesota Multiphasic PersonalityInventory in the Study of Juvenile Delinquents, AstER.SOCtOL. REv., 17 (December, 1952), pp. 704-710.STARKE R. HATHAWAY AND ELIO D. MONACHESI,ANALYZING AND PREDICTING JUVENILE DELINQUENCYWITH THE MMPI (Minneapolis: University of Minne-sota Press, 1953), pp. 3-153; KARL F. SCiUESSLERAND DONALD R. CRESSEY, Personality Ctaracteristicsof Criminals, ANIER. JOUR. OF SOCIOL. 55 (March,1950), pp. 476-484, and M. A. DUREA AND M. H.FERTMAN, Personality Characteristics of JuvenileOffenders, JOUR. OF Crat. L. AND CRIMINOL. 32(November-December, 1941, pp. 433-438.

MORRIS G. CALDWELL

convicted of the major types of crime. The samescientific instrument, the Minnesota MultiphasicPersonality Inventory, was used to measurepersonality differences in both problems. Eachproblem was approached statistically through theanalysis of MMPI score results for the two groupsof offenders. However, in the second problem, thecase study method of individual offenders was usedto supplement the statistical analysis.

MMPI

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality In-ventory was selected as the principal instrumentfor the discovery and measurement of possibledifferences in personality characteristics for bothresearch problems. The decision was made on thebasis of previous standardization of this test forprison populations. Also, this selection was basedupon the demonstrated capacity of this instru-ment to discriminate between delinquents and non-delinquents in a long series of studies by Hath-away, Monachesi, Capewell, and others.2 TheRevised Army Beta Intelligence Test (a testadapted for persons of low educational status)was used also to supplement the personality scoreson MMPI.

The MMPI consists of 550 test items coveringsuch factors as health, pesonal adjustment, morale,and social attitudes. These items aim to comparethe responses of the person being tested to thecharacteristic responses and mental behaviorpatterns of a group of persons diagnosed asmentally ill by psychiatrists in a hospital situation.Thus, the personality trends of individual offendersor groups of offenders may be measured in terms ofthe "norms" for abnormal behavior established bymental patients.

The MMPI is a psychometric instrument whichprovides four validity scales and ten clinical scalesfor the measurement of personality trends.3 Thevalidity scales include the "Question Score" (?),the "Lie Score" (L), the "Validity Score" (F), andthe "K-Score," which is used as a correction factorfor the purpose of sharpening the discriminatorycapacity of five of the clinical scores. The normalrange for scores on all the clinical scales is between

2 See footnote No. 1.3STARKE R. HATHAWAY AND J. C. McKINLEY,

MANUAL FOR MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIc PERSONALITYINVENTORY, (New York: The Psychological Corpora-tion, Revised 1951), pp. 18-22. ANALYZING ANTD PRE-DICTING JUVENiLE DELINQUENCY WITH THE MMPI(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1953),pp. 15-19.

30 and 70. However, clinical scores between 60 and70 are regarded as high, and clinical scores above70 as abnormal. A score above 70 on one or moreof the validity scales, especially the "F" or ValidityScale, invalidates the scores for all the ten clinicalscales, and therefore such test should be discarded.However, the problem of validity does not concernus in the present study as the validity scores for allof the 459 youthful offenders fall within the normalrange of 30 to 70.

A brief descriptive statement regarding each ofthe clinical scales of MMPI used in this study isimperative at this point so the reader may knowprecisely what phase, feature, characteristic, oritem of personality is measured by each scale. TheHypochondriasis Scale (Hs) attempts to measurephysical complaints and abnormal bodily functions,which are largely psychological in origin and haveno organic basis. The Depression Scale (D) at-tempts to measure the extent and intensity ofmental depression in the individual. A high D scoreindicates a type of person who displays a phi-losophy of futility and lacks hope for the future.The Hysteria Scale (Hy) measures the extent towhich the individual displays specific complaints,such as paralysis, gastric disorders or cardiacsymptoms. The Psychopathic Deviate Scale (Pd)reveals the type of person who displays lack ofemotional tone and affectional response, and isunable to make routine social adjustments togroup life. The Psychopathic Deviate score at-tempts to measure the degree of psychopathy. TheMasculinity-Femininity Interest Scale (Mf) is de-signed to measure feminine interests and patternsof behavior on the part of the male, and masculineinterests and patterns of behavior on the part ofthe female. The Paranoia Scale (Pa) attempts tomeasure patterns of behavior in the individualcharacterized by suspiciousness, supersensitivity,and delusions of persecution. The PsychastheniaScale (Pt) is to measure tendencies toward com-pulsive behavior such as is displayed by the arson-ist, exhibitionist, and the rapist. The SchizophreniaScale (Sc) attempts to measure the degree to whichthe individual's subjective life has deviated fromreality or split away from it. The HypomaniaScale (Ma) is meant to measure the extent towhich the individual displays recurring fluctu-ations in mood from irrational manic behavior tomental depression. The Social Introversion-Extro-version Scale (Si), which measures withdrawal fromsocial intercourse, is not a clinical scale and there-

[VCol. 49

PERSONALITY TRENDS

fore was not used in this study. The clinical scoresfor the individual cases and the means for the twogroups of offenders have been presented in a seriesof statistical tables (Tables 2, 3, and 4).

COMPOSITION OF THE YOUTHFULOFFENDER POPULATION

The two groups of youthful offenders understudy are similar in respect to composition. Thesize of the two groups is approximately equal-228Negro and 231 white offenders. The age distribu-tion-16 to 23 years-is also approximately thesame for both groups, with mean ages of 19.5years for Negro and 19.6 years for white offenders.The white offenders have a slight edge over theNegros in respect to criminal record with a mean of2.0 convictions for white and 1.85 convictions forNegro offenders. However, a surprisingly largeproportion of Negros as compared with whiteswere living in urban communities at the time of theinstant offense. The distribution shows Negrooffenders 70.6 percent urban, 18.4 percent rural-farm, and 11.0 percent rural-non-farm as comparedwith white offenders 57.1 percent urban, 32.5 per-cent rural-farm, and 10.4 percent rural-non-farm.

EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND INTELLIGENCE

The educational status of the Negro offenderswas slightly higher than of the white offendersprior to the commission of the instant offense withmean grades completed in school of 8.6 and 8.3respectively. The difference between these twomeans is not statistically significant. The simi-larity in educational status is surprising in view ofa mean IQ of 92.8 for the white offenders and 80.2for the Negro offenders-a differential of 12.6 IQpoints in favor of the white offenders. This differ-ence in mean intelligence between Negro and whiteoffenders is statistically significant as revealed by aCR of 10.6.

The distribution of Negro and white offendersaccording to intelligence, Table I, shows that thewhite offenders have higher percentages withnormal intelligence (90 I.Q. or above) than theNegro offenders for the major types of crime.Later in this discussion it will be shown that thedifferences in mean intelligence between Negro andwhite offenders for the major criminal types arestatistically significant as shown by critical ratiosabove 2.0, with the one exception of Negro andwhite forgers. The Negro offenders appear superiorto white in educational status (percentage above

TABLE IINTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF 228

NEGRO AND 231 WHITE YOUTHFUL MALE

OFFENDERS ACCORDING TO TYPE OF OFFENSE

Percentage Pewith Normal Pe thrcentage owith EducationIntelligence Abe eType of Offense (90 I.Q. or Above the

Above) Eighth Grade

White Negro White Negro

Murder &Manslaughter. 46.2 21.5 30.8 35.7Assault ................ 55.6 27.2 33.3 54.6Robbery ............... 78.2 30.8 54.5 38.5Burglary .............. 63.1 24.7 28.1 36.1Forgery ............... 47.9 15.0 52.2 80.0Grand Larceny ......... 67.3 26.4 44.3 58.5Auto Theft ............ 64.0 18.2 40.0 36.4Other Offenses (Va-

grancy, liquor law vio-lation, etc.) ......... 42.8 25.0 33.3 30.0

the 8th grade), Table I, for all types of crime exceptrobbery, auto theft, and other offenses. However,the apparent superiority of the Negro offendereducationally fades away, with one exception,when the differences in mean grade are analyzedstatistically. This one exception relates to a differ-ence in mean grade completed in school betweenNegro forgers (9.4 grades) and white forgers (7.9grades) of 1.5 grades-a statistically significantdifference as shown by a CR of 2.30.

PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEGRO

AND WHITE OFFENDERS ACCORDING TO MMPI

The Critical Ratio (CR)4 was used to determinewhether the differences between MMPI meanscores were statistically significant or accidentaldifferences due to chance. As a matter of interpreta-tion it is assumed that a CR of 2.0 or above indi-cates real or statistically significant differences inpersonality characteristics between Negro andwhite offenders.

The analysis of the critical ratios for the MMPImean scores, Table II, indicates that real person-ality differences exist between Negro and whiteoffenders on six of the clinical scales. A CR of 4.0on the Hypochondriasis Scale indicates that theNegro offender has a greater tendency to displayhypochondriacal symptoms than the whiteoffender. These symptoms are psychological innature and include such imaginary ills as head-

4 A critical ratio (ratio of the difference between themeans of the two variables to the standard error ofthis difference) of 2.0 or above is regarded as significant.

MORRIS G. CALDWELL

TABLE II

PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS: 228 NEGRO AND 231 WHITE YOUTHFUL MALE OFFENDERS(Mean scores for MMPI, I.Q., and school grade completed)

Hs D Hy Pd M Pa Ft Sc Ma IQ Grade

Negro, Mean .... 62.5 63.2 55.6 68.2 56.3 59.0 61.1 67.6 63.0 80.2 8.6White, Mean .... 57.5 61.4 55.0 71.2 51.9 56.6 60.0 61.7 61.2 92.8 8.3C.R ............. 4.0 2.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 2.0 10.6

aches, backaches, indigestion, ulcers, and the like.A CR of 2.0 on the Depression Scale indicates thatthe Negro offender is more inclined toward periodsof mental depression than the white offender. ACR of 3.0 on the Psychopathic Deviate Scale indi-cates that the white offender (mean 71.2) displaysgreater tendencies toward psychopathic deviancythan the Negro offender (mean 68.2); that is thewhite offender appears less able to make routinesocial adjustments to group living that the Negro.A CR of 5.0 on the Masculinity-FemininityInterest Scale indicates that the Negro maleoffender excels the white male offender in the dis-play of interests, activities, and patterns of be-havior which are peculiarly female. Also, theNegro offender displays greater paranoid tenden-cies than the white offender as indicated by a CRof 3.0 on the Paranoia Scale. The Negro offender'sbehavior is more often characterized by delusions ofpersecution than the white offender. Finally, a CRof 2.0 on the Hypomania Scale indicates that theNegro offender is more inclined towards fluctu-ations in mood between mental depression andmanic behavior than the white offender. The meanscores for the Negro offender exceed those for thewhite on five MMPI scales, and the white offendersurpasses the Negro on only one MMPI scale. Thecritical ratios confirm the fact that these differencesare statistically significant. However, the differ-

ences between the means of Negro and whiteyouthful male offenders are not statistically signifi-cant for three MMPI scales-Hysteria, Psychas-thenia, and Schizophrenia.sin prisoners by the statistical and case study

PERSONALITY DIFFERENCES IN CRIMINAL TYPES

BETWEEN NEGRO AND WVHITE OFFEN7DERS

The second problem of this paper is to determineif the differential personality characteristics of theyouthful male offender fall into types or patterns

of criminal behavior for both races. It is essentiallya problem in criminal typology, which has beensiuccessfully attacked by others. For instance, Dr.John L. Gillin, in an intensive study of 486 Wiscon-

methods delineated three distinct criminal types:the murderer; the sex offender, and the propertyoffender. 5

The analysis of this problem may prove verydifficult under ordinary conditions with only theuse of interview techniques and case studymethods. However, when these methods are sup-plemented by the use of scientific instruments ofmeasurement, 6 it is possible to identify the majordifferences between Negro and white offenders incriminal type. It is assumed by a combination ofmethods that the personality characteristics of themurderer, assaulter, rapist, burglar, robber, andforger will stand out in bold clear relief. The princi-pal offense patterns for Negro and white offendersrevealed by this procedure appear in the accom-panying Table III.

OFFENSE PATTERNS FOR NEGROAND WHITE OFFENDERS7

An analysis of the MMPI mean scores, meanI.Q. score, and mean grade completed in schoolreveal certain offense patterns for Negro and whiteyouthful male offenders. These statistical offensepatterns are supplemented by two illustrative casestudies for each major crime category.

THE MURDERER

The murderer, except in situational murderconforms to a basic personality pattern and socialtype. The white murderer in this study possesses

5 JOHN LEwIs GILLIN, THE WISCONSIN PRISONER-STUDIES IN CRIMOGENESIS. University of WisconsinPress, 1946.

6 The set of scientific-tools and instruments of meas-urement for the study of differences in criminal typesshould include as minimum equipment an intelligencetest adapted to the intellectual level of prisoners, suchas the Revised Army Beta Intelligence Test and astandardized personality test, such as the MinnesotaMultiphasic Personality Inventory. In difficult casesthe standard minimum equipment should be supple-mented by the utilization of projective techniques,including Rorschach Technique and the ThematicApperception Test.

Refer to Table III for data relating to "OffensePatterns;" to Table IV for data regarding "CaseStudies."

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PERSONALITY TRENDS

TABLE IIIEIGHT MAJOR OFFENSE PATTERNS: 228 NEGRO AND 231 WHITE YOUTrFUL MALE OFFENDERS

(Mean scores for MMPI, I.Q., and school grade completed)

Offense Hs D Hy Pd Mf Pa Pt Sc Ma IQ Grade

MurderNegro ............... 65.3 66.3White ............... 59.1 62.2C.R .................

AssaultNegro .............. 62.4 63.7White ........... 60.4 64.3C.R .................

RobberyNegro ............... 61.4 65.2White ............... 56.5 62.4

C.R ...................Burglary

Negro ............... 59.6 66.2White ............... 59.5 61.6C.R ................. 2.29

ForgeryNegro ............... 59.0 64.5White ............... 61.2 63.4C.R .................

Grand LarcenyNegro ............... 60.5 61.5White ............... 56.6 63.5C.R .................

Auto TheftNegro ............... 57.8 61.5White ............... 61.6 61.6C.R .................

Other OffensesNegro ............... 64.0 63.5White ............... 54.6 60.3C.R ................. 2.52

61.3 71.0 58.556.8 72.9 51.4

2.44

62.1 65.2 70.662.2 62.2 61.4

3.50

56.5 70.1 57.8 60.5 60.5 67.860.4 69.3 53.2 56.6 58.8 59.3

2.0

61.7 74.660.6 90.4

3.22

65.157.72.16

59.1 70.6 59.8 59.8 63.7 72.9 60.655.5 73.7 57.8 58.3 59.6 62.8 63.7

3.05

55.8 70.157.0 73.9

2.13

55.5 58.351.3 58.32.70

53.5 65.5 60.055.1 70.0 53.4

3.0

56.455.8

68.1 57.373.9 53.5'2.42 2.0

60.557.3

60.556.82.13

80.992.82.38

81.296.43.64

60.9 67.3 64.0 80.460.6 63.7 62.0 93.8

5.0

62.0 67.5 64.0 83.0 9.465.1 66.4 66.4 90.2 7.9

2.30

63.0 68.561.0 62.0

2.80

53.3 72.4 56.9 . 61.5 65.155.2 70.4 53.6 59.2 62.4

56.0 67.0 57.0 60.0 60.052.7 67.9 50.3 54.1 58.9

2.40

65.1 83.964.0 93.8

4.80

67.8 65.1 80.565.6 61.6 92.2

2.74

70.0 65.558.4 58.43.32

78.589.32.70

normal intelligence (mean I.Q. 90.4), low educa-tional status (7.2 grades completed in school), andan exceptionally high MMPI mean score of 72.9on the Psychopathic Deviate Scale. The Negromurderer in contrast possesses below normal in-telligence (mean I.Q. 74.6), low educational status(6.8 grades completed in school), and exceptionallyhigh MMPI mean scores of 71.0 and 70.6 on thePsychopathic Deviate and Schizophrenia scalesrespectively, and also a high mean score of 65.2on the Psychasthenia Scale. Three statisticallysignificant differences exist between the white andNegro murderers in respect to the higher intel-ligence of the white offender, and the display by theNegro offender of masculinity-femininity interestsand schizophrenic personality trends. These differ-ences are substantiated by critical ratios of 3.22,

'2.44, and 3.50 respectively.

The following two case studies conform in theirmain features to the basic offense patterns estab-lished for white and Negro murderers. The case ofthe following white murderers may be character-ized by average intelligence or above and an ex-ceptionally high score on the Psychopathic DeviateScale. The "J.S." case presents the personality of ayouthful white male offender, age 21 years at timeof study, I.Q. 112, eleventh grade completed inschool, who displayed definite trends towardpsychopathic deviation and psychasthenia withscores of 82 and 71 respectively. He was sentencedto life imprisonment for murder at the tender ageof sixteen years.

At the time of the offense his family consisted ofhis parents, two older brothers in military service,and his twin sister, for whom he displayed intensesibling rivalry. As both his parents worked full

1959]

MORRIS G. CA LDWELL

TABLE IVSELECTED CASE STUDIES: NEGRO AND WHITE YOUTHFUI. MALE OFFENDERS

(Individual scores for MMPI, I.Q., and school grade completed)

Cases 1s

Murderer"J.H." (Negro) ............. 55"J.S." (W hite) ............... 54

Assaulter"O.W." (Negro) .............. 75"T.G." (White) ............ 45

Rapist"W-.O." (Negro) ....... 44"J.O." (White) .............. 45

Robber"E.W." (Negro)............. 75"A.M." (White) ............. 55

Burglar"L.W." (Negro) ............. 85"B.W." (White) .............. 80

Forger"H.C." (Negro)........... 65"R.H." (White) ............. 45

Grand Larcenist"R.G." (Negro) ....... ..... 55"C.P." (White) ...... 45

Auto Thief"C.J." (Negro) ........... 55"H.T." (White) ............ 55

D Hy Pd Mf Pa Pt Sc Ma IQ Grade

65 45 65 65 6551 53 82 59 53

65 65 75 65 55 55 75 7555 45 75 55 45 65 55 65

42 64 51 85 6445 75 45 65 65

60 4th112 11th

70 8th95 8th

76 7th85 8th

75 55 45 75 75 45 70 8th75 45 55 55 65 65 95 12th

65 65 75 65 65 6551 69 84 43 44 52

45 65 55 75 55 75 65 75 9th45 75 45 45 45 45 65 115 12th

55 55 75 55 65 5555 65 75 55 45 55

55 7565 75

55 65 65 75 6555 65 55 65 55

95 8th95 8th

time in a cotton mill, "J.S." was left alone withoutparental supervision and guidance. During thisfree time he found companionship among olderboys and men. He soon acquired the drink habitand learned how to gamble. He lost all respect forhis parents as he became proficient in these be-havior practices.

Over a period of approximately five monthsprior to his offense, he and his companion, Mr."X," committed several burglaries, but withoutdetection. Following these successful burglaries, heand this same companion assaulted, robbed, andmurderered a taxicab driver in cold blood, andthen disposed of the body in a nearby stream. Theyhad planned to give the taxicab a new color by re-painting it, and then to take off on an escapethrough several western states. However, "J.S."and his companion were arrested and confessed tothe crime before departure could be arranged.Throughout the entire procedure of arrest, con-fession, and aftermath, "J.S.", in true psycho-pathic demeanor, failed to express remorse, sorrow,or guilt feelings of any kind. In fact, he cursed hisfather for attempting to render assistance during

the critical situation. The murderer lacks thecapacity to express or experience emotional feeling,sentiment, or affection. The confession of "J.S."

related how the victim was shot once through theback of the head, brutally kicked out of the car,and shot a second time to make sure he was dead.The case represents premeditation and carefulplanning of the crime as to the purchase of the carpaint, the revolver, the strategy to be followed inthe execution of the crime and the get-away, andother details.

The "J.H." case presents the personality of aNegro murderer, age 17 years at time of his con-viction, with two previous criminal convictions,sentenced to life imprisonment, below 60 I.Q.,completed the fourth grade in school, and withMMPI scores of 85 on the Schizophrenia Scale,and 75 on the Psychasthenia and Hypomaniascales. "J.H." was living with his parents and fivesiblings in a rural-farm community at time ofinstant conviction. The father was employed fulltime as a skilled worker. The Negro murderer inthis case stands out in striking contrast to theprevious case of the white murderer. The case of

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PERSONALITY TRENDS

this Negro murderer may be characterized byinferior intelligence, low educational status, andpersonality patterns of schizophrenia, psychas-thenia, and hypomania. The case of the whitemurderer may be characterized by above averageintelligence, high school education, and a person-ality pattern of psychopathic deivation.

THE ASSAULTER

The crime of assault includes all types of ag-gravated assault with the exception of assault andbattery. The white assaulter possesses normal intel-ligence (mean I.Q. 92.8), low educational status(7.1 grades completed in school), with high MMPImean scores of 69.3 and 64.3 on the PsychopathicDeviate and Depression scales respectively. Incomparison the Negro assaulter possesses low aver-age intelligence (mean I.Q. 80.9), average edu-cational status (8.3 grades completed in school),and MMPI mean scores of 70.1, 67.8, and 65.1 onthe Psychopathic Deviate, Schizophrenia, andHypomania scales respectively. The mean intel-ligence of the white assaulter is I.Q. 11.9 pointshigher than that of the Negro assaulter, which is asignificant difference as indicated by a CR of 2.38.The Negro assaulter scored significantly higherthan the white on the Schizophrenia and hy-pomania-scales as shown by a CR of 2.0 and 2.16respectively.

The "T.G." case presents the personality of asingle white assaulter, age 18 years at conviction,no previous criminal conviction, sentenced to fouryears imprisonment on the offense of assault,possessed average intelligence with an I.Q. of 95,completed the eighth grade in school, and scored75 on the Psychopathic Deviate Scale. His familyconsisted of his parents and two other children.He lived with his parents in a large urban com-munity at the time of his offense. His father was anunskilled worker, who was unemployed at the timeof this offense.

The "O.W." case presents the personality of asingle Negro assaulter, age 22 years at time of con-viction, two previous criminal convictions, sen-tenced to three years imprisonment for assault,I.Q. below 70, completed the eighth grade in school,and received an MMPI score of 75 on the Hypo-chondriasis, Psychopathic Deviate, Schizophrenia,and Hypomania scales. "O.W." lived with hiswidowed mother and one sibling in a small ruralfarm community at the time of'his offense.

These two cases are similar in respect to edu-

cational status and a high MMPI score on thePsychopathic Deviate Scale. The case of the whiteassaulter is definitely superior to the Negroassaulter in intelligence, with a differential of 25I.Q. points. However, the Negro assaulter excelsthe white in the display of hypochondriacal symp-toms, schizophrenic personality trends, and hy-pomanic behavior.

THE RAPIST8

The "J.O." case presents the personality of asingle white male, age 20 years at instant offense,with five previous criminal convictions, sentencedto 30 years imprisonment on the instant offense ofrape, possessed intelligence below average with anI.Q. of 85, completed the eighth grade in school,and registered an MMPI score of 75 on the Psycho-pathic Deviate Scale. "J.O." was living with bothparents in a small rural-non-farm community atthe time of the instant offense. His father wasemployed full time as proprietor of a small business.Theparents owned their own home. "J.O." was alsoemployed full time as a skilled worker prior to theinstant offense, and received wages of $200 permonth.

The personality of the "W.O." case representsan unmarried Negro male offender, age 22 yearsat the time of his offense, I.Q. 76, seventh gradecompleted in school, who was sentenced to a 20year term in prison for raping a married woman.Although the range of normal intelligence for theNegro is only slightly below the white race inAlabama prisons, nevertheless, the case of "W.O."

represents an inferior intelligence and low edu-cational status. The distinguishing feature of thiscase is a score of 75 on the Depression Scale and85 on the Paranoia Scale-5 and 15 points re-spectively above the maximum for normality. Thistype of personality deviation is characterized bydelusions of persecution, which often motivate theindividual to commit acts of aggression and vi-olence, such as rape, against an innocent person."W.O." was the third child in a family of seven

children. The father was absent from the home asthe parents were divorced. The children lived inthe home with the mother under dire economiccircumstances and an inferior social environment.Prior to the present offense, he appeared on severaloccasions before the juvenile court on the offense of

s The case method was used exclusively in the pres-entation of the rapist as this study included too fewrapists for statistical analysis.

MORRIS G. CALDWELL

stealing. The offender was employed full time as asemi-skilled worker at the time of the instantoffense. His monthly wage averaged less than $50per month. The white rapist may be described as apsychopathic deviate with below average intel-ligence and low educational status, while the Negrorapist may be characterized as a mentally de-pressed paranoic, also possessing inferior intelli-gence and low educational status.

THE ROBBER

The white robber may be characterized bynormal intelligence (mean I.Q. 96.4), average edu-cational status (8.0 grades completed in school),and high MMPI mean scores of 73.7 and 63.7 onthe Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania scalesrespectively. The Negro robber may be character-ized by low intelligence (mean I.Q. 81.2), loweducational status (7.2 grades completed in school),and high MMPI mean scores on the PsychopathicDeviate, Schizophrenia, and Depression scales of70.6, 72.9, and 65.2 respectively. The mean intelli-gence of the white robber is 15.2 I.Q. points higherthan the Negro robber. This difference in meanI.Q. is a statistically significant difference as indi-cated by a CR of 3.64. The Negro robber scoredsignificantly higher than the white robber on theSchizophrenia Scale as shown by a CR of 3.05.Both white and Negro robbers are similar in re-spect to pronounced trends toward psychopathicdeviation.

The "A.M." case represents the personality of asingle white robber, age 18 years at time of con-viction, no previous criminal conviction, sentencedto 14 years imprisonment for robbery, possessednormal intelligence with an I.Q. of 95, completedthe twelfth grade in school, and scored 75 on thePsychopathic Deviate Scale, and 65 on the Schizo-phrenia and Hypomania scales. Both parents weredeceased at time of the latest offense. "A.M." wasan unskilled service worker, who was employedfull time prior to the offense for which he has beenconvicted.

The "E.W." case represents the personality of asingle Negro robber, age 19 years at time of con-viction, no previous criminal conviction, sentencedto 25 years for robbery, possessed low intelligencewith an I.Q. below 70, completed the eighth gradein school, and scored 75 on the Hypochondriasis,Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Psychasthenia,and Schizophrenia scales. "E.W." lived with hiswidowed mother in a large urban community at

the time of the last offense. He was an unskilledworker and was employed full time prior to con-viction. He received wages of approximately S125per month.

THE BURGLAR

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality In-ventory has discovered two major types of bur-glars: (1) the pure psychopathic burglar; and (2)the mixed type of burglar. The pure psychopathicburglar is invariably a white offender with normalintelligence (mean I.Q. 93.8), low educationalstatus (7.4 grades completed in school), and a highMMPI mean score (73.9) on the PsychopathicDeviate Scale. The mixed type burglar is usuallya Negro offender with low intelligence (mean I.Q.80.4), low educational status (7.1 grades completedin school), and high MMPI mean scores of 70.1,67.3, 66.2, and 64.0 on the Psychopathic Deviate,Schizophrenia, Depression, and Hypomania scalesrespectively. In the mixed type of burglar thetrend toward psychopathic deviation is modifiedby schizoid tendencies, moods of mental depression,and hypomanic behavior. The mean intelligence ofthe white psychopathic burglar is 13.4 I.Q. pointshigher than the Negro mixed type of burglar-asignificant difference in intelligence as indicated bya CR of 5.0. Significant differences also exist be-tween the MMPI mean scores for Negro and whiteoffenders on the Depression, Psychopathic Deviateand Masculinity-Femininity Interest scales withcritical ratios of 2.29, 2.13, and 2.70 respectively.

The "B.W." case represents the personality of awhite male offender, age 23 years on conviction,I.Q. 102, eleventh grade completed in school, whowas sentenced to five years imprisonment forburglary. The MMPI reveals scores for the Hypo-chondriasis and Psychopathic Deviate scales, 10and 14 points respectively above the maximum fornormality.

The criminal record of the "B.W." case involvesfour previous criminal convictions and one in-dustrial school commitment: (1) commitment tothe National Training School for Boys, Washing-ton, D. C. at 16 years of age for transporting astolen automobile across a state line; (2) threeyears suspended sentence at 19 years of age forparticipation in a shooting affair at Louisville,Kentucky; (3) find for felonious assault and carry-ing a pistol in Chattanooga, Tennessee at 20years of age: (4) at 22 years of age a detainer wasplaced against him at Decatur, Alabama on

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charges of false pretense, larceny and embezzle-ment of $4,500; and (5) the instant offense ofburglary at 23 years of age. The record shows aprogressive advance toward the burglar type ofcriminal and a life of criminal recidivism.

His employment experience consisted of workingas cashier at Club 41 for the modest wage of $35 perweek. This job was merely a cover-up for his manyrackets, gambling activities, and confidence deals.His financial conditions enabled him to wear ex-pensive clothes and drive a Cadillac car.

The marital record of "B.W.", a revelation of thetrue psychopathic pattern of personality, consistedof four marriages and three divorces. He marriedfirst wife out of spite when his "real" girl friendjilted him. One child was born to this union. Twochildren were born to his second marriage. "B.W."was running around with a third woman while hissecond wife was pregnant the second time. Afterthe baby was born he divorced his second wife andmarried the third woman. His third wife divorcedhim when she learned of a secret two-weeks vaca-tion of her husband and another "girl friend" inMiami, Florida. Later however, he remarried histhird wife. "B.W." entered into his maritial rela-tionships casually and severed them abruptlywithout any sense of responsibility and expressionof emotion or consideration for the feelings of theother parties involved.

The "L.W." case represents the personality of asingle Negro burglar, age 20 years at conviction,no previous criminal conviction, sentenced to fouryears imprisonment for burglary, possessed lowintelligence with an I.Q. below 70, completed thefourth grade in school, and scored 85 on the Hypo-chondriasis Scale and 75 on the Psychopathic Devi-ate and Schizophrenia scales. As both parents weredeceased, "L.W." lived with relatives in a smallrural non-farm community. He was an unskilledworker, who was employed full time prior to theinstant offense at wages approximating $150 permonth.

THE FORGER

The white forger may be characterized by nor-mal intelligence (mean I.Q. 90.2), average edu-cational status (7.9 grades completed in school),and high MMPI mean scores on the Psycho-pathic Deviate, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia,and Hypomania scales of 70.0, 65.1, 66.4, and 66.4respectively. The Negro forger may be character-ized by low intelligence (mean I.Q. 83), high edu-

cational status (9.4 grades completed in school),and high MMPI mean scores of 67.5, 64.5, and64.0 on the Schizophrenia, Depression, and Hy-pomania scales respectively. The difference inmean intelligence between the white forger and theNegro forger of 7.2 I.Q. points is not significant.However, the difference of 1.5 grades completed inschool favoring the Negro offender is a significantdifference as indicated by a CR of 2.30. TheNegro forger differs from the white forger in agreater display of feminine interests and patternsof behavior as indicated by a CR of 3.0 for theMasculinity-Femininity Interest Scale.

The "R.H." case presents the personality of awhite male forger, age 22 years at conviction, withone previous criminal conviction, sentenced to twoyears imprisonment for forgery. He possessedabove average intelligence with an I.Q. of 115,completed a high school education, and registeredan MMPI score of 75 on the Psychopathic DeviateScale."R.H." was married and living with his wife and

one child in a large urban community at time ofconviction. He was employed full time prior to thepresent offense as a semi-skilled worker. His wagesamounted to about $200 per month. He was not astable worker judging from the fact that he wasemployed on four different jobs during the threeyears prior to conviction.

The "H.C." case represents the personality of asingle Negro male forger, 18 years of age at con-viction, with two previous criminal convictions,and sentenced to five years imprisonment forforgery. He possessed below average intelligencewith an I.Q. of 75, completed the ninth grade inschool, and registered an MMPI score of 75 onboth the Paranoia and Schizophrenia scales."H.C." was living with his parents and five

siblings in a small rural-farm community at time ofthe instant offense. His father was employed fulltime as a skilled worker. The economic conditionsof the family were good as indicated by continuedemployment, adequate wages, and home owner-ship.

These two cases represent two different types offorgers. The personality of the Negro forger may becharacterized by low intelligence and definiteparanoic and schizophrenic trends. The whiteforger presents a personality with above averageintelligence and a definite trend toward psycho-pathic deviation.

MORRIS G. CALDWELL

THE GRAND LARCENIST

The white grand larcenist may be characterizedby normal intelligence (mean I.Q. 93.8), low edu-cational status (7.7 grades completed in school),and high MMPI mean scores of 73.9 and 64.0 onthe Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania scalesrespectively. The Negro grand larcenist may becharacterized by low intelligence (mean I.Q. 83.9),average educational status (8.3 grades completed inschool), and high MMPI mean scores of 68.1,68.5, and 65.1 on the psychopathic Deviate,Schizophrenia, and Hypomania scales respectively.The mean intelligence of the white grand larcenistis 9.9 I.Q. points higher than the Negro grandlarcenist-a significant difference indicated by aCR of 4.80. Also, the mean score for the whitegrand larcenist on the Psychopathic Deviate Scaleis significantly higher than the Negro grand lar-cenist as indicated by a CR of 2.42. However, theMMPI mean scores for the Negro grand larcenistare significantly higher than the white grand lar-cenist on the Masculinity-Femininity Interest,Paranoia, and Schizophrenia scales with criticalratios of 2.0, 2.13, and 2.80 respectively.

The "C.P." case represents the personality of awhite male grand larcenist, age 18 years at lastconviction, no previous criminal conviction,sentenced to nine years imprisonment for grandlarceny, possessed above normal intelligence withan I.Q. of 109, completed a high school education,and scored 75 on the Psychopathic Deviate andHypomania scales. He lived with one parent andstep-parent in a medium sized community at thetime of the latest offense. His father was a semi-skilled worker, who was employed full time at thetime of the present offense of his son. The father'swages approximated $250 per month.

The "R.G." case represents the personality of asingle Negro male grand larcenist, age 19 years atinstant conviction, with four previous criminal con-victions, sentenced to two years for grand larceny,possessed low intelligence with an I.Q. below 70,completed the ninth grade in school, and scored 85on the Hypomania Scale and 75 on the Psycho-pathic Deviate and Schizophrenia scales. He livedwith his mother as his parents were divorced. Sheworked full time outside the home to supplementthe income of her son, who was employed full timeprior to the instant offense as an unskilled worker.

THE AUTO THIEF

The white and Negro auto thieves are similar inrespect to low educational status and mean scoreson all nine MMPI clinical scales. Especially to benoted is the fact that both white and Negro autothieves have high MMPI mean scores on thePsychopathic Deviate and Schizophrenia scales(white 70.4 and 65.6; and Negro 72.4 and 67.8respectively). The slight differences between theMMPI mean scores for white and Negro autothieves are not significant differences for all nineclinical scales. However, a difference of 11.7 I.Q.points in mean intelligence favoring the whiteauto thief, with a CR of 2.74, sharply differentiatesthese two types of auto thieves.

The "H.T." case presents the personality of asingle white auto thief, age 17 years at time ofconviction, two previous criminal convictions,sentenced to nine years imprisonment for stealingan automobile, possessed normal intelligence withan I.Q. of 95, completed the eighth grade in school,and scored 75 on the Psychopathic Deviate Scaleand a score of 65 on the Depression, Hysteria,Paranoia, and Schizophrenia scales. He lived withboth parents in a small urban community prior tohis last offense. Both he and his father were em-ployed part time as semi-skilled workers. Thefinancial situation of this family indicates povertyand sub-standard living conditions.

The "C.J." case represents the personality of asingle Negro auto thief, age 19 years at conviction,three previous criminal convictions, sentenced tofour years imprisonment for the theft of an auto-mobile, possessed normal intelligence with an I.Q.of 95, completed the eighth grade in school, andscored 75 on the Psychopathic Deviate and Schizo-phrenia scales and 65 on the Paranoia, Psychas-thenia, and Hypomania scales. "C.J." was livingwith relatives in a large urban community prior tohis conviction. Both parents were deceased. He wasemployed full time as a semi-skilled worker atwages approximating $150 per month prior to hisoffense.

THE "OTHER OFFENDER" CATEGORY

The "Other Offender" Category, including 17vagrants, nine liquor law violators, nine sex of-fenders, two arsonists, and four miscellaneousoffenders is divided approximately equal betweenthe two groups, with 21 white offenders and 20Negro offenders. The white "Other Offender" may

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be characterized by a high MMPI mean score onthe Psychopathic Deviate Scale (67.9), while theNegro "Other Offender" may be characterized byhigh MMPI mean scores on the PsychopathicDeviate, Schizophrenia, and Hypomania scales of67.0, 70.0, and 65.5 respectively. The mean intelli-gence of the white "Other Offender" is 10.8 I.Q.points higher than the Negro "Other Offender"-asignificant difference as shown by a CR of 2.70.The Negro "Other Offender" scored significantlyhigher than the white "Other Offender" on -theHypochondriasis, Masculinity-Femininity Inter-est, and Schizophrenia scales with critical ratios of2.52, 2.40, and 3.32 respectively. These differencesbetween white and Negro offenders in the "OtherOffender" Category are real differences and not dueto chance.

SumA.RY oF FNmINGS

The analysis of the data in this study has re-vealed certain important differences betweenNegro and white offenders: (1) general personalitydifferences according to MMPI; and (2) specificdifferences between the races for the major criminaltypes. These differences were established by the useof the Critical Ratio (CR) and supplemented bythe case study method.

The significant differences between the MMPImeans for five of the clinical scales indicate thatNegro offenders excel white offenders in respect tothe display of hypochondriacal symptoms, moodsof mental depression, feminine interests and pat-terns of behavior, paranoic trends, and hypomanicbehavior. Also, the significant difference betweenmeans for these two groups of offenders on thePsychopathic Deviate Scale indicates that whiteoffenders display trends toward psychopathicdeviation to a greater extent than Negro offenders.Furthermore, the significant difference in overallmean intelligence sharply differentiates white fromNegro offenders. The superiority of white offendersover Negro offenders in intelligence is further sub-stantiated by significant differences between themeans of the two racial groups for all the majorcriminal types, except the forger.

An analysis of the data reveal certain differencesin offense patterns between white and Negrooffenders as follows:

(1) The Murderer. The white murderer is supe-rior to the Negro murderer in intellectual abilityand the Negro murderer excels in the expression of

feminine patterns of behavior and schizoid tenden-cies.

(2) The Assaulter. The white assaulter excels inintelligence and the Negro assaulter predominatesin the expression of schizophrenic trends andhypomanic behavior.

(3) The Rapist. The white rapist may be charac-terized by below average intellgence and a definitetrend toward psychopathic deviation. The Negrorapist also may be characterized by low intelli-gence, but differs from the white rapist by pro-nounced paranoic trends and definite moods ofmental depression.

(4) The Robber. The white robber is superior tothe Negro robber intellectually, while the Negrorobber excels in the expression of schizophrenicpersonality trends.

(5) The Burglar. The white burglar is superiorto the Negro burglar in intellectual ability andexcels in the expression of psychopathic behavior.The Negro burglar is inclined towards moods ofmental depression, but his predominating ac-tivity appears to be the expression of female inter-ests and patterns of behavior.

(6) The Forger. The white and Negro forgersappear similar in all respects,* except a significantdifference in educational status favoring the Negroforger.

(7) The Grand Larcenist. The white grand larce-nist is superior to the Negro grand larcenist inintelligence and excels in the expression of psycho-pathic behavior. However, the Negro grand larce-nist differs from the white grand larcenist in thegreater display of feminine behavior patterns, par-anoid trends, and schizoid tendencies.

(8) The Auto Thief. Apparently an auto thief isan auto thief regardless of race because the onlysignificant difference between these two groups ofthieves is the superior intelligence of the white autothief.

(9) The "Other Offender" Category. The meanintelligence of the white "Other Offender" issignificantly higher than the mean intelligence ofthe Negro "Other Offender." However, the Negro"Other Offender" differs significantly from thewhite "Other Offender" in higher mean scores forthe Hypochondriasis, Masculinity-Femininity In-terest and Schizophrenia scales.

The purpose of this study has been to point outand analyze personality differences between thesetwo groups of offenders, and not to explain why

19591

MORRIS G. CA LDWELL

these differences exist. Although the data do notwarrant conclusions on this point, it may be sug-gested that these differences may be due in largepart to dissimilarities in family conditioning,group interaction, personality structure, andculture norms.

IMOLICATIONS or THIS STUDY

The results of this exploratory study indicatethat the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality In-ventory can become a valuable instrument andpractical tool in correctional administration andcorrectional treatment of the offender. It can be

used by prison personnel for the delineation ofcriminal types for each racial group; for the dis-covery of abnormal personality trends in disciplineand problem cases. It can prove valuable in theclassification of new inmates within a prisonsystem. It can be used by the prison rehabilitativepersonnel to determine the kind of psycho-therapyor correctional treatment required by the variouscriminal types; by parole boards as an instrumentfor the prediction of the probable success or failureof offenders on parole, and in like capacity byprobation departments. Lastly, it can be invaluableas a tool for the research criminologist interestedin personality studies of the offender.

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