Cross-cultural reliability and generality of the Megargee Offender Classification System

The cross-cultural reliability and generality of the offender classification system developed by E.I. Megargee (1994) and colleagues (Megargee, Carbonell, Bohn, & Sliger, 2001) was examined. A hierarchical cluster analytic approach was used to identify Megargee's MMPI-2 based types in a sample of Belgian male federal prisoners (N = 1636). Six types (i.e. Able, Charlie, Delta, Easy, How, and Item) were clearly replicated, albeit with variable reliability in terms of goodness-of-fit. Types Baker, Foxtrot, George, and Jupiter were not supported. Instead, another meaningful MMPI-2 type was identified, labelled 4-6, because scale 4 and 6 were the two highest scales with a T score of 65 or higher. Cross-national cluster analytic research is necessary to further examine the cross-cultural reliability and generality of the types identified in the current study.