Correlates of the MMPI-2 and the AASI-2 with Child Molester Typology

The terms "child molester" and "pedophile" are frequently used interchangeably; however, these two groups are heterogeneous and should be understood as two different types of offenders. A number of different terms have been used to differentiate between two types of individuals who have sexually offended against children. This study's aim was to add to a limited body of research on the typology of two types of sexual offenders. A review of archival AASI-2 and MMPI-2 data was conducted in order to assess the possibility of accurately classifying two types of child molesters: Situationally Mediated Offenders (SMOs) and Preferentially Mediated Offenders (PMOs) (N = 41). The findings indicate that SMOs and PMOs can be differentiated using the Social Introversion (Si) clinical scale on the MMPI-2. These findings suggest that it may be possible to classify two subtypes of child molesters based on personality style. Future research should attempt to replicate these findings on a much larger scale.