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P -- V Sign in Corrections: Is It a Useful Diagnostic Tool?

NCJ Number
139864
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 19 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1992) Pages: 372-383
Author(s)
A Walsh
Date Published
1992
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The article argues that the P is greater than V sign cannot be dismissed as a diagnostic or predictive tool because it has been shown to be unrelated to a series of personality traits.
Abstract
Intellectual imbalance in either direction, that is, V is greater than P or P is greater than V, proves a useful predictor of the probability of becoming delinquent. For a sample of 513 male juvenile delinquents, P is greater than V proved not to be an artifact of lower overall intelligence quotient (IQ), lower verbal IQ, or socioeconomic status. Once a youth becomes delinquent, the frequency and severity of delinquent involvement can be predicted by the degree of P is greater than V discrepancy with socioeconomic status and race held constant. In sum, the P is greater than V sign emerges as a valuable tool of corrections psychologists. A V is greater than P profile can be regarded a marker predictive of good behavior in the general population and a P is greater than V profile a marker predictive of delinquent behavior in the general population. 1 table and 23 references