Personality Assessment Inventory scores as predictors of misconduct among sex offenders civilly committed as sexually violent predators

Abstract

We examined the usefulness of scores on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) in predicting treatment program violations among 76 sexual offenders civilly committed as sexually violent predators. Scores on the Borderline Features scale (area under the curve [AUC] = .69, p = .005) and Negative Relationships subscale (BOR-N: AUC = .71, p < .001) were the strongest predictors of misconduct, outperforming scores on scales designed to predict poor treatment amenability and antisocial behavior. Incremental validity analyses indicated that BOR scores made a significant contribution to the prediction of misconduct after controlling for scores on measures of overall self-reported distress (e.g., Mean Clinical Elevation, Negative Impression), which were also predictive of program violations. Overall, our findings point to the potential utility of integrating components of treatment for borderline personality disorder into sex offender treatment.