Using the Megargee MMPI-based classification system with the MMPI-2s of female prison inmates.

This study extends Megargee's Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-based classification system to female offenders. MMPI-2s of 400 women in state and federal prisons were rescored and reconfigured to estimate their original MMPI profiles. Their MMPIs and MMPI-2s were classified according to the rules devised for the original MMPI. Next, the MMPI-2s were reclassified using new rules for classifying the MMPI-2s of male offenders. Neither approach led to satisfactory agreement between MMPI and MMPI-2. A major problem was that Scale 5 was more prominent in the women's MMPI-2 profiles than on their MMPIs. Using revised rules for classifying the original MMPIs and the MMPI-2s of female offenders, 386 of the 400 women (97%) could be classified on both versions of the MMPI, of whom 336 (87%) were classified identically. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Frequency of MMPI two-point code types among sex offenders.

Two-point Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) codes were calculated for 403 convicted sex offenders, yielding 43 code types. The relative frequencies of codes were compared among rapists, child molesters, incest offenders, first offenders, and recidivists. Code frequencies were also compared with frequencies in previously reported studies of psychiatric patients and criminals. Sex offenders showed more 4–5 and 4–8 profiles than other prisoner groups. Rapists showed more profiles that are usually associated with assaultiveness. There were significant differences in code frequencies between incestuous biological fathers and stepfathers and between first offenders and recidivists. The heterogeneity of MMPI profiles precludes stereotypic generalizations about sex-offender characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity of the MMPI Pd scale among black males.

Conducted 3 studies to investigate the validity of the MMPI Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) and Pd + .4K scales in discriminating levels of social deviance among young black men. Study 1 established that 102 black inmates at a federal correctional institution had significantly higher scores on both scales than 120 culturally deprived black male university students. Study 2, using Ss from Study 1, demonstrated that (a) among the inmates recidivists had significantly higher scores than first offenders, and (b) among the students there were significant differences in the expected directions among subgroups differing in self-reported delinquency. Study 3 showed that the black Ss from Study 1 had higher scores than comparable samples of 60 white male college students and 51 white male prison inmates. It is concluded that Pd and Pd + .4K both validly differentiate levels of social deviance among young black men but that the norms for the scales appear to show racial bias. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using the Megargee MMPI-based classification system with MMPI-2s of male prison inmates.

To determine the impact of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) on the Megargee offender classification system, 1,213 male offenders' responses on the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were rescored and reprofiled as MMPI-2s, and the MMPI-2s of 422 male prisoners were used to estimate their original MMPIs. When classifications based on the original MMPIs were compared with those from MMPI-2s, less than two thirds were classified identically. Therefore, the original Megargee rules should not be used to classify MMPI-2s. A new set of classifactory rules was devised for the MMPI-2 which, on cross-validation, agreed with the original MMPI classifications in 82% of the cases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Who requests psychological services upon admission to prison?

Structuring a system of psychological services for offenders and releasees requires an understanding of the offenders who voluntarily seek psychological services upon admission. To begin to develop such an understanding, a sample set of responses to the Psychological Services Inmate Questionnaire (PSIQ) from 2,674 newly committed male and female federal offenders were examined. About one-tenth of the sample made a request for psychological services upon admission to prison without a mandate or referral, and confirm that a combination of prior mental health treatment and current symptoms are among the factors associated with making the request. Logistic regression analysis indicated male gender, receipt of mental health treatment prior to current incarceration, history of a head injury, current symptoms of depression, hopelessness, nervousness, sleeping problems, and racing thoughts, were independent and significant predictors of service request. Implications for future corrections research, clinical training and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model of psychopathology based on an integration of MMPI actuarial systems.

Relationships among MMPI code types from the systems of H. Gilberstadt and J. Duker (1965) and of P. A. Marks et al (1974) were evaluated using an empirical clustering procedure. Three superordinate types were identified—neurotic (Hs, D, Hy), psychotic (Sc, Pt), and sociopathic (Pd, Ma)—which form a theoretical model of psychopathology. Patients can be readily classified according to this typology and a graphic display of the results constructed. The importance of differentiating profile elevation, scatter, and shape is discussed when matching a given MMPI profile to the various code types. Data from the MMPI do not support the practice of highly differentiated classification within the 3 superordinate types. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

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. (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)     

Psychopathology subtypes: Drug use motives and patterns.

Isolated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-defined psychopathology symptom clusters (e.g., negative mood states) that were related to drug use and compared 82 adult male drug abuse inpatients assigned to modal profile types on self-reported drug use motives, drug use preferences and patterns, and convergent measures of affect. Despite limitations of typology systems, results suggest differences in Ss' drug motives and drugs of choice as well as in psychopathology for self-medicating (especially for Ss abusing prescribed drugs) compared with Ss reporting illicit use primarily for pleasure and recreation. Identification of the cognitive and affective substrates that prompt drug taking may have implications for facilitating behavior change and minimizing relapse among chronic drug abusers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The 3-4/4-3 MMPI code type in an offender population: An update on levels of hostility and violence.

Levels of hostility and type of crime committed were compared in 94 male offenders with either 3-4 or 4-3 MMPI high point pairs and in 94 randomly selected offenders (mean age for all Ss 31 yrs) without these codes who were matched for race with the 3-4/4-3 group. The samples were drawn from all male offenders entering a state prison system over 5 yrs. Self-report measures included the MMPI, Buss Durkee Hostility Inventory, and Monroe Dyscontrol Scale. Multivariate and univariate analyses showed that those with 3-4 codes did not differ from those with 4-3 codes. Except for higher scores on Megargee's Overcontrolled-Hostility scale, the combined 3-4/4-3 offenders either did not differ from or scored lower than the comparison group on type of crime and all self-report measures of hostility, anger, episodic dyscontrol, and violence. Neither these results nor the majority of research on 3-4/4-3 profiles supports these codes as evidence of a proclivity for violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI profile characteristics of psychiatric patients in an urban Canadian setting.

Studied the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles of 363 inpatient and outpatient urban Canadian psychiatric patients (mean age = 31.5 yrs). The profiles as a group did not differ markedly from 2 recent American samples in their single most elevated clinical scales, in the most commonly occurring 2-point code types, or in classifiability according to the profile typology of P. A. Marks and W. Seeman (1963). With no rule violations, the Marks and Seeman typology classified only 20% of the sample; allowing 1 rule violation per profile increased the classification rate to only 41%. Further research into the applicability of American MMPI clinical lore to English-speaking Canadian populations is encouraged. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sensation seeking, impulsivity, and psychopathic personality.

The Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) correlated positively and significantly with MMPI measures of impulsivity, extrapunitiveness, and psychopathy, and with scales of overt and covert hostility in 83 male psychiatric offenders. However, diagnosed psychopaths did not score significantly higher on SSS than nonpsychopathic offenders. Evidence suggests that while sensation seeking is related to psychopathic personality characteristics, it may also be common among certain psychotics. With this qualification, the results indicate an association of sensation seeking with impulsivity and psychopathic personality traits. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting prison adjustment with structured personality inventories.

Investigated the degree to which individual scales and multivariate combinations of scales on the MMPI and the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) could predict criteria of adjustment in prison. Ss were 1,313 male inmates (mean age 22.2 yrs) at a federal correctional institution who were admitted over a 2-yr period. Two-thirds of the sample was used as a derivation sample and one-third was used for cross-validation. Ss completed the scales soon after incarceration. Results support the construct validity of several MMPI and CPI scales, but the absolute magnitude of the associations was low. Combinations of MMPI and CPI scales produced higher multiple correlations but generally did not hold up on cross-validation. It is concluded that neither the MMPI or CPI scales or weighted linear combinations thereof provided enough accuracy to be used alone for individual actuarial prediction. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Replicated MMPI subtypes for alcoholic men and women: Relationship to self-reported drinking behaviors.

Derived replicated MMPI clusters for 188 inpatient alcoholic males (mean age 40 yrs) and 112 inpatient alcoholic females (mean age 41 yrs) and conducted subsequent MANOVAS with the resulting subtypes for men and women to evaluate differences on an alcohol-use inventory measuring Ss' alcohol expectancies, patterns of use, and drinking consequences. It is noted that shortcomings of previous cluster-analytic research include failure to replicate clusters across separate samples and lack of external measures against which to evaluate the predictive validity of cluster typologies. In the present study, the alcoholic male sample included 94 experimental and 94 replication Ss, while the female sample included 56 experimental and 56 replication Ss. The MMPI was administered to all 150 experimental Ss, and the same MMPI scale scores were obtained from replication Ss' hospital records. The alcohol-use inventory was administered to all 150 experimental Ss. MANOVA revealed significant differences among subtypes of alcoholic women, but relatively poor differentiation among subtypes of men by these measures. Among women, increasing psychopathology on the MMPI was predictive of increasing quantities of alcohol intake and other substance abuse, obsessive preoccupation with alcohol consumption, and affective and physiological disturbances related to drinking consequences. (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empirical correlates of frequently occurring two-point MMPI code types: A replicated study.

Examined whether (a) a relatively small number of 2-point code types could account for a large proportion of MMPI protocols in a psychiatric setting, and (b) reliable behavioral and demographic correlates of these 2-point code types could be identified. MMPI protocols of 588 hospitalized psychiatric patients were randomly divided into 2 subsamples. Within each, the profiles were classified according to 19 frequently occurring 2-point code types (identified in a pilot study), permitting classification of 84% of the 588 profiles. For each subsample, each code type was compared with the remaining Ss on 68 behavioral and demographic variables. Although 300 or more significant differences were found for the comparisons in each subsample, in only 66 instances were the same differences significant in both subsamples. The relevance of these findings to MMPI interpretational practices is discussed. (21 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An MMPI scale to separate brain-damaged from schizophrenic men.

Developed 3 MMPI scales: (a) an unweighted scale consisting of 80 items differentially endorsed by 61 organics and 65 schizophrenics at a Veterans Administration psychiatric hospital, (b) the same items weighted as a function of their differentiating power, and (c) a short form consisting of the 30 most powerful items weighted in accordance with their differentiating strength. Scales were cross-validated in a state hospital population and a general medical and surgical Veterans Administration hospital. Results indicate that the scales differentiate male organics from schizophrenics but are of dubious value among female populations. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcoholic personality types: Identification and correlates.

Conducted a study (a) to identify the existence of distinct personality types among 282 white male alcoholic psychiatric patients and (b) to relate this empirically derived taxonomy to types from previous research with alcoholic patients and to general psychiatric types. Employing a sequential factor-analytic strategy, 8 bipolar typal dimensions that defined 1 cluster of persons at each pole of each dimension were identified. The 5 clearest bipolar typal dimensions were classified as follows: (a) acute anxiety vs denial and blunted affect, (b) antisocial attitudes vs hypochondriacal preoccupation, (c) hostile-hallucinatory syndrome vs neurotic depression, (d) neurotic disorganization vs hostile paranoid, and (e) emotional instability vs interpersonal conflict and depression. MMPI profiles from prior research with a variety of psychiatric groups showed marked correspondence with MMPI profiles estimated for the 8 common types. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Standardization of the Chinese MMPI–A in Hong Kong: A preliminary study.

The Chinese Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—Adolescents (MMPI—A) was applied in Hong Kong to a normative sample of 565 male and 664 female students ages 14–18. The Chinese adolescents' MMPI–A T scores based on the U.S. adolescent norms were elevated more than 1 SD on Scale 2. Similar elevations were found on Scale L (Lie) for the female students and on Scale A-lse (Adolescent Low Self-Esteem) for the male students. Moderate elevations were also shown on several scales, although none of the clinical scales exceeded a T score of 65, the clinical cutoff point based on U.S. norms. Whether these elevations were due to cultural differences in item interpretation or higher levels of psychopathology among the Hong Kong students cannot be concluded from the present data. However, previous findings on the Chinese MMPI favors the former explanation. These cultural differences should be taken into consideration in clinical interpretations of elevated scores on the Chinese MMPI—A. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the use of inverted factor analysis for generating typologies.

Inverted, or Q-, factor analysis has been 1 of the most frequently employed methods in numerical typology. Its application to a sample of 52 manic-depressives using data from a battery of tests, including the MMPI and structured clinical interview, yielded 5 types which seemed to make clinical sense. Examination of the data, however, pointed to the existence of just 1 type of depressives and either 1 or 2 types of manics. It is concluded that the data must be examined for heterogeneity before an exercise in numerical typology is undertaken. If the univariate and multivariate distributions on all variables for a sample are unimodal and symmetric, then the sample is most likely homogeneous as far as the variables employed are concerned, and it would be hard to justify using the given data for generating types. If the data suggest the existence of types, then a method other than inverted factor analysis might better be used to find them. Some problems in validating numerically derived typologies are discussed. (25 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)