Holtzman Inkblot Technique scores of delinquent adolescents: a replication and extension

The Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT) was administered to 83 male juvenile delinquents, ranging in age from 13 to 16 years (mean age: 15.2 years), who were being detained at the Texas Youth Council Reception Center. Scores from 22 HIT variables scored were factor-analyzed and then compared with Megargee's pioneering normative HIT study of juvenile delinquents published in 1965. Results of the two investigations were strikingly similar, reinforcing Megargee's finding that norms for nondelinquent adolescents are not appropriate for use with a confined delinquent group. Important differences were discovered, however, and these are discussed.