Developing an Empirically Based Typology of Delinquent Youths

Abstract

A number of personality-based typologies have been developed to differentiatejuvenile delinquents. Some of these typologies have been faulted for theirmethod of construction, for their failure to provide outcome measures, orbecause they are dated and have not been retested with more recent delinquentpopulations. This paper describes efforts to develop an empirically derived,inductive typology of juvenile delinquents that can be used in appliedsettings to facilitate a better understanding of program outcomes and enableplacement authorities better to predict program effectiveness. The dataemployed in the analysis come from an outcome-based informationsystem—ProDES—that has been operational for more than4 years in Philadelphia. Unlike many such databases, ProDES was jointlydesigned by researchers and practitioners to serve a large system ofcommunity and institutional programs. Included among the outcome measuresare four standardized, self-reported personality scales that comprise 14subscales and form the basis of the typology. This paper describes themethods used to construct the typology, the substance of the classificationsystem, and its potential utility for program evaluation.