10.1177/009385402237924 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR Salekin et al. / THE OVERCONTROLLED HOSTILITY SCALE THE OVERCONTROLLED HOSTILITY SCALE An Evaluation of Its Applicability With an Adolescent Population KAREN L. SALEKIN University of Alabama JAMES R. P. OGLOFF Morash University and Forensicare ROBERT G. LEY Simon Fraser University RANDALL T. SALEKIN University of Alabama The present study examined the validity of Megargee’s Overcontrolled Hostility Scale for use with a delinquent and violent adolescent population. Archival Minnesota Multiphasic Personal- ity Inventory (MMPI) data were collected on 18 adolescent murderers, 18 violent (but nonmurdering) young offenders, and 18 nonviolent youths convicted of property offenses. The MMPI was administered to a comparison group of 18 adolescent nonoffenders. The homicide group was divided into two groups based on documented instances of the offender’s aggressive behavior prior to committing a homicide: the aggressive homicide subgroup and the nonaggressive homicide subgroup. Moderate but statistically nonsignificant effect sizes were found between adolescent murderers and all other adolescent groups on the scale. These results suggest that overcontrolled hostility may be present in adolescent murderers. Implications for assessment and treatment are discussed. P revious research has indicated that adolescent murderers do not constitute a homogeneous group (Bailey, 1996; Cornell, Benedek, & Benedek, 1987; Sendi & Blomgren, 1975). In fact, the limited research pertaining to the clinical assessment of adolescent murderers reflects the diversity of these young offenders and that of 718 CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 29 No. 6, December 2002 718-733 DOI: 10.1177/009385402237924 © 2002 American Association for Correctional Psychology