Distinguishing Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) characteristics associated with violent and nonviolent juvenile delinquency.

This study examined the relationship between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales and violent and nonviolent juvenile delinquency. Participants were 260 adolescent boys and girls in a forensic setting. Results indicated that Disconstraint (DISC), a marker of behavioral disinhibition and impulsivity, was associated with nonviolent delinquency, whereas Aggressiveness (AGGR), which is characterized by the use of instrumental aggression and interpersonal dominance, was specifically associated with violent delinquency. These findings are consistent with expectations based on empirical findings in the broader personality literature linking the construct of disinhibition with externalizing psychopathology as well as the literature identifying callous-unemotional aggression as a risk factor for violence.