Comparison of MMPI scores of White and Japanese-American medical patients.

Compared the MMPI scores of 164 patients (mean age 40.3 yrs) classified by sex, diagnostic group (somatization disorder or organic brain syndrome), and race (White or Japanese-American). MANOVA revealed effects for sex and diagnostic group, as well as a sex by race interaction. Male Ss scored significantly higher than females on 9 clinical scales; thus, factors other than race (e.g., sex) appear to be critical in the interpretation of MMPI scores. Implications for the use of the MMPI with non-White patients are discussed. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Birth order and sociometric choice.

It is hypothesized that sociometric choice is, in part, affected by social factors. One evaluates his own feelings about a person by comparing his feelings with those of others. First borns, who are characterized as dependent, are assumed to be more influenced by such social determinants of sociometric choice than are later borns. Implications of these assumptions are tested in a sociometric study of 15 fraternities and sororities. Within these groups, first borns choose more popular people and exhibit greater similarity of sociometric choice than do later borns. In addition, the data indicate that first borns are considerably less popular than are later borns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI correlates of drug addiction based on drug of choice.

Previous MMPI research has focused on addict differences based on substance abused and has largely failed to detect differences using standard univariate methods. The current study, conducted with 48 male and 17 female addicts involuntarily committed to a treatment program, used multivariate analysis to detect differences among groups based on drug of choice (amphetamines, barbiturates, or heroin). Ss' composite MMPI profile revealed elements of distress, confusion, and depression as well as sociopathy. Multiple discriminant analysis successfully generated 2 orthogonal functions that accounted for virtually all of the variance between groups. The loadings of each function were analyzed in terms of the behavioral components characterizing each group. The implications for differential treatment strategies and for theories of personality etiology among drug abusers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among personality variables, kinesthetic figure afteraffect, and reminiscence in motor learning.

The relationship among kinesthetic figural aftereffect (KAE), reminiscence in motor learning (Rem), MMPI data, psychiatric diagnosis, age and vocabulary were studied in psychotic and nonpsychotic VA patients. KAE was found to be negatively related to Rem, but there was no significant relationship with MMPI and psychiatric diagnostic data; Rem was found to be positively related with MMPI and psychiatric diagnosis. It was assumed that part of the explanation for whatever relationships existed between the variables might be found in neural processes. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HJ87M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A review on the clinical applications of the Chinese MMPI.

Twenty-six studies on the clinical applications of the Chinese version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in China are reviewed. The results show that the basic scales are able to differentiate between normals and psychiatric patients, including schizophrenics, manics, depressives, and neurotics. Distinctive profiles were obtained for the different diagnostic groups, similar to the clinical patterns observed in the United States. The average T scores for Scales F, 2, and 8, which were high among Chinese normals, were further elevated among the patient groups. When the Chinese norm was applied, the T scores on the clinical scales fell under 70 for all patient groups. The Chinese researchers suggested a cutoff value of 60 for the Chinese norm. Concordance between MMPI profiles and clinical diagnoses was high for the schizophrenics and moderate for the other patient groups. The results support the clinical applications of the Chinese MMPI in China. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociometric choice patterns in hospital ward groups with varying degrees of interpersonal disturbances.

"Selected aspects of the sociometric choice process were analyzed for their hypothesized relationship to certain expressions of inter-personal disturbances. Patients on five hospital wards representing an inter-personal disturbance continuum were given a sociometric test containing positive, negative, and relatively objective criteria… . Those aspects of sociometric responses analyzed were reciprocations, intercriteria overlap, and acceptability score patterns." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The MMPI and chronic pain: A cross-cultural view.

The MMPI scores were studied for 430 male and 180 female Australian chronic pain patients. Analysis revealed mean MMPI profiles (i.e., elevated Hypochondriasis, Hysteria, and Depression clinical scales) and 3 cluster-analytically derived profile types that corresponded closely to findings in the literature on US chronic pain patients. Further, at least some of the behavioral correlates associated with MMPI performance among US pain patients were also found for the Australian pain patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prospects for faking believable deficits on neuropsychological testing.

Compared the results of 16 volunteer malingerers (mean age, 24.4 yrs) with those of 16 cooperative, nonlitigating head-trauma patients (mean age, 24.4 yrs) on the WAIS, the Halstead-Reitan Test Battery, and the MMPI. The overall level of ability impairment shown by the malingerers equaled that of the head-injury group, but different patterns of strengths and deficits were produced by the 2 groups on testing. The malingerers also showed more severe personality disturbance on the MMPI. The test protocols were sent to 10 neuropsychologists, who made "blind" judgments as to whether each was probably produced by a malingerer or by a real head-injury patient. Neuropsychologists' diagnostic accuracies ranged from chance-level prediction to about 20% better than chance. Discriminant functions based on the neuropsychological test results and the MMPI, respectively, correctly classified 100 and 94% of Ss in both groups. In another sample of 84 head-injury patients, those who were involved in court actions and/or gave clinical evidence of faking were more likely to be classified as malingerers by the discriminant functions. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical attractiveness as a correlate of peer status and social competence in preschool children.

The physical attractiveness of 59 preschoolers (aged 4 yrs 8 mo to 5 yrs 7 mo) was rated by 77 undergraduates. Two measures of social competence, sociometric status and rank in an attention structure, were also obtained. Rank-order correlations among the 3 measures indicated that physical attractiveness was a significant correlate of sociometric rank but not of attention rank. Sociometric and attention ranks were also significantly interrelated. The relationship between attractiveness and sociometric status was stronger for girls than for boys, and attractiveness was not significantly related to attention rank. Partial correlation analyses indicated that attractiveness did not mediate the relationship between attention and sociometric rank. Results suggest that sociometric data may be influenced by variables such as physical attractiveness that are not necessarily related to social competence. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The sociometry of society: Some facts and fancies.

Presents facts which have recurred in many sociometric studies and findings emerging from current research. The presentation is divided into 5 parts: sociometric affinities and diffinities; sociometric differential; persistence of personal relations; difference in sociometric structure of apparently similar groups; and developmental sociometry. Implications from each of these for guidance of the social growth of the individual and for amelioration of social organization are stressed. A point of view regarding the nature of society is described, i.e., that the affinities and diffinities among individuals provide the psychological basis for the human existing as a social being and form the groundwork that has made it possible for human society to develop. (French summary) (38 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Content and comprehensiveness in the MMPI: An item factor analysis in a normal adult sample.

A principal components analysis of the 550 MMPI items on 1,576 patients referred for coronary angiography was performed to define the MMPI's psychological content dimensions and evaluate the comprehensiveness of its items. After failing to replicate the 21-factor solution of J. H. Johnson et al (1984), the authors interpreted 9 orthogonally rotated components. Agreement was found between a number of studies on several factors, including neuroticism, somatic complaints, cynicism, and religious orthodoxy. However, only 1 of the 5 personality dimensions identified by W. T. Norman (1963) was adequately represented. The 9-factor scales identified in this analysis may be useful as an alternative way of scoring the test, especially for longitudinal studies with archival MMPI data sets. It is suggested that the MMPI is capable of making subtle diagnostic distinctions when applied to a psychiatric population but that these distinctions become less meaningful when applied to a normal sample. Thus, it would be advisable to supplement the MMPI with instruments that measure a broader range of normal personality characteristics. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of the MMPI-2 in the outpatient assessment of women with Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa

Past research has shown that women with eating disorders commonly display clinical elevations on several scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1983), so the MMPI may be useful for the differentiation of women with Anorexia Nervosa from those with Bulimia Nervosa. In the study presented here, 116 women diagnosed with either Bulimia Nervosa or Anorexia Nervosa completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989). Multivariate analyses failed to reveal any differences among the diagnostic subtypes. Consideration of profile code types was suggestive of possible group differences that mirror those discussed in previous literature on the personality features of women with eating disorders. Results are discussed with regard to past research and the clinical utility of the MMPI in the outpatient assessment of women with Anorexia Nervosa or Bulimia Nervosa.     

Similarity versus social ambition effects in the assessment of interpersonal acceptance in the classroom.

Evaluated the manner in which variations in sociometric formulations highlight differing effects of academic status on social acceptance in the classroom in 2 parallel studies with 619 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. Ss completed alternately worded versions of an interpersonal relationship assessment technique. As expected, versions emphasizing personal desires or willingness to interact led to findings indicating heightened acceptance for targets of higher academic status (social ambition). In contrast, versions leading Ss to consider realistic costs or limitations evoked higher acceptance for targets of similar rather than different social status (similarity). The contingency between sociometric formulation and outcome was consistent with level of aspiration and social exchange theories and points to the distinctive role of both desire and cost–benefit considerations in choice of social relations among adolescents. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of Faschingbauer's abbreviated MMPI with medical patients

Investigated the utility of the Faschingbauer abbreviated MMPI (FAM) with 3 groups of male medical patients. FAM items were extracted from the MMPIs of 94 renal dialysis, 94 chronic orthopedic pain, and 94 neurology patients. The FAM and MMPI group means were similar and highly correlated. Investigation of individual profile stability indicated an average individual correlation of .86 and 75% agreement in diagnostic group classifications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is alexithymia related to psychosomatic disorder and somatizing?

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among alexithymia (as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale--TAS and the scored version of the Archetypal 9 Test--SAT9), the presence or absence of classical psychosomatic disease, and the experience and expression of physical signs and symptoms. Subjects included thirty-two physical signs and symptoms. Subjects included thirty-two in-patients on a psychosomatic medicine unit (somatizing group), thirty-one out-patients who presented to a psychology clinic (psychiatric group), and thirty-four dental patients (comparison group). All subjects completed the TAS, the SAT9, the Hypochondriasis scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI Hs), the Physical Malfunctioning subscale of the MMPI (MMPI Physm), the Somatic Complaints subscale of the MMPI (MMPI Somc), the Hypochondriasis and Denial scales of the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI Hs and BPI Dn), and a demographic questionnaire. Age was significantly correlated with some of the TAS subscales (p < 0.001). There was no significant differences in SAT9 or TAS scores among the three subject groups (SAT9 F(2, 87) = 1.88, p = 0.16; TAS F(2, 92) = 2.91, p = 0.06). MMPI Hs, MMPI Physm, MMPI Somc, BPI Hs could significantly predict TAS (R = 0.46, F(4, 89) = 6.06, p = 0.0002) but not SAT9 scores (R = 0.26, F(5, 84) = 1.54, p = 0.20). Neither TAS (F(2, 92) = 2.13, p = 0.12) or SAT9 (F(2, 87) = 0.095, p = 0.91) scores differed significantly between subjects grouped according to whether they had none, one, or two or more classical psychosomatic disorders.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A perspective on developments in assessing psychopathology: A critical review of the MMPI and MMPI-2.

Many concerns have been raised about the MMPI, but the emphasis on continuity during its revision precluded addressing many of these problems in the new MMPI-2. In this review, problems with the MMPI and MMPI-2 are explicated in an effort to promote more informed use of this and other tests of psychopathology. Major theoretical concerns include the lack of a consistent measurement model, heterogeneous scale content, and suspect diagnostic criteria. Serious structural problems include the overlap among scales, lack of cross-validation of the scoring keys, inadequacy of measures of response styles, and suspect norms. Six minor problems and new issues for the MMPI-2 are also discussed. It is concluded that although the MMPI-2 is an improvement over the MMPI, both are suboptimal from the perspective of modern psychometric standards for the assessment of psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

(Hu)man versus mean revisited: MMPI group data and psychiatric diagnosis.

Used a meta-analysis of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) data from 403 control and psychiatric samples to (1) examine demographics associated with previously published MMPI studies, (2) test L. R. Goldberg's (1972) indexes for predicting normal versus deviant and neurotic versus psychotic group membership, (3) compare multiple regression, discriminant function, and logistic regression analyses commonly used to study the relation between the MMPI and diagnostic group membership, and (4) examine the signal within the MMPI as it related to current psychiatric diagnosis. Group data were found to be efficient indicators of the relation between the MMPI and diagnosis, although efficiency is compromised by within-sample heterogeneity. The 3 statistical methods examined obtained equivalent results. Regression models related to group prediction are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting rapid relapse following treatment for chemical dependence: A matched-subjects design.

Explored the prognostic significance of treatment and posttreatment variables on rapid relapse following residential treatment for chemical dependence. 54 persons were identified as 3-month treatment failures by the criteria of 1–3 months of alcohol/drug use in combination with alcohol/drug-related consequences and poor life adjustment. To limit heterogeneity, these persons were matched on MMPI scores with persons who were 3-month outcome successes. Additionally, these MMPI patterns were classified as near normal or indicative of psychiatric symptoms. Multivariate statistics revealed a high level of outcome predictability; continued emotional turmoil (depression, anxiety, and sleep problems) posttreatment was strongly related to failure among the psychiatric MMPI group. Failure to engage in a continuing posttreatment aftercare plan was associated with failure among persons in the near-normal MMPI group. Research approaches that attempt to limit heterogeneity among alcoholics appear to have promise in uncovering powerful prognostic indicators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the clinical utility of the MMPI basic scales and specific MMPI state-trait scales: A test of Dahlstrom's hypothesis.

Tested W. G. Dahlstrom's (1972) hypothesis that the clinical utility of the MMPI could be improved through the use of dimensionally pure personality trait and psychopathological state scales to supplant the present dimensionally complex clinical and validity scales. 508 male psychiatric patients (mean age, 37.7 yrs) were diagnostically categorized using a structured classification algorithm; discriminant functions were then computed first for a relatively untainted set of symptom, characterological, and validity scales, then for the basic MMPI clinical and validity scales as independent variates. Results fail to confirm Dahlstrom's hypothesis. The MMPI clinical scales distinguished diagnostic categories better than did the state and trait scales. Possible reasons for lack of confirmation of Dahlstrom's hypothesis are discussed, and alternative modes of analysis are suggested. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)