Self-reported hostility as a function of offense characteristics and response style in a sexual offender population.

The Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), the Hostility Toward Women Scale (HTWS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Social Desirability and Defensiveness scales were examined in a sample of 239 sexual offenders, 23 of whom had previously been studied. Sexual offenders against adolescents and adults had higher BDHI scores than sexual offenders against children. However, multiple regression equations revealed that the MMPI Defensiveness scale accounted for more of the shared variance in both types of self-reported hostility than did the maturity of the subjects' victims or the level of force used in the commission of the sexual offenses. Social desirability was significantly associated with the HTWS but not with the BDHI.