Characteristics of DUI recidivists: A 12-year follow-up study of first
time DUI offenders.
Cavaiola AA, Strohmetz DB, Abreo SD. Addict Behav 2006; ePub(ePub):
ePub.
Affiliation: Monmouth University, West Long Branch, New Jersey,
USA.
(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)
77 individuals convicted of a drinking and driving (DUI) offense were
screened for recidivism approximately 12 years following their first
offense. At the time of the initial DUI conviction, participants were
administered the MAST and the MMPI-2. Participants’ drinking history and
driving history and arrest at the time of screening and at a 12-year
follow-up were also reviewed. The results indicate that, among DUI
recidivists, on average 6 years elapsed between their first and second
DUI offenses. Driving history prior to the first DUI offense was
predictive of later recidivism.
The only significant finding from the MAST and MMPI results was that
repeat offenders tended to have higher scores on the L and K validity
scales of the MMPI (see Forensic Psychology Study below). These results
are discussed in the context of Jessor’s Problem-Behavior Theory and as
well their clinical implications for screening and treatment decisions
involving first time DUI offenders.
Source: http://www.safetylit.org/
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AMERICAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY, Volume 16, Number 4, 1998, p.
5-14
MMPI-2 VALIDITY SCALES AND SUSPECTED PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME
by Jeffrey C. Siegel, Ph.D. and Joseph S. Langford, Ph.D.
MMPI-2 validity scales of two groups of parents going through child
custody evaluations, parents who engage in parental alienation syndrome
(PAS) behaviors and parents who do not, were compared. It was
hypothesized that PAS parents would have significantly higher L and K
scales and a significantly lower F scale than parents who do not engage
in these behaviors. Using female subjects, since few males were
available, the hypothesis was confirmed for K and F scales, indicating
that PAS parents are more likely to complete MMPI-2 questions in a
defensive manner, striving to appear as flawless as possible. It was
concluded that parents who engage in alienating behaviors are more likely
than other parents to use the psychological defenses of denial and
projection, which are associated with this validity scale pattern.
Implications of this finding regarding possible personality disorders in
PAS parents are discussed.
Parental alienation syndrome is a term coined by Gardner (1, 2) for
the phenomenon in which a child from a broken marriage becomes alienated
from one parent due to the active efforts of the other parent to sever
their relationship. Rand (3) recently provided an extensive review of the
literature relevant to this phenomenon, broadening the scope to include
writing which described the same or similar Concepts without using
Gardner’s term. Gardner and others (4, 5) have described numerous
behaviors the alienating parent may engage in to harm the child’s
relationship with the other parent, many of which have been described as
“programming” or “brainwashing.” For example, the alienating parent is
likely to make accusations about the other parent in front of the child,
describe the other parent as dangerous or harmful, tell the child that
the other parent does not love him or her, and greatly exaggerate the
other parent’s faults (whether real or imagined). More extreme alienating
behaviors include making false accusations of sexual or physical abuse
and programming the child to believe that the abuse occurred. According
to Gardner, the child becomes aware that the alienating parent wants him
or her to hate the other parent and, out of the need to please the
alienating parent and to avoid abandonment or rejection, the child joins
in the denigration of the other parent.
Source: http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/pas/siegel98.htm
