SPI discriminators among four psychological health-sickness levels.

Formed criterion groups representing 4 psychological health-sickness levels for each sex from among 87 hospitalized psychiatric patients and 145 normal adults on the basis of clinical judgments, and for normals, on the basis of an MMPI severity of pathology index. Magnitudes of mean scores for 14 scales of the Spiegel Personality Inventory were in rank order of pathology level for males and females. Univariate and multivariate methods were used to select 10 of the most promising scales: deviant response, deterioration feeling, self-dissatisfaction, intrusive thought, alienation, dread, future planlessness, olfactory minimizing, auditory minimizing, and tactual minimizing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age and MMPI performance.

Evaluated the effects of age on MMPI scale scores with intelligence controlled. Data included MMPIs and Wechslers from 420 white hospitalized psychiatric patients. No sex differences were found in relationships among age, intelligence, and MMPI scale scores. Major findings were that T-scores on Scales 4, 6, 8, and 9 are affected by age, scores on Scales L and F by intelligence, and scores on only Scale F by both variables. Although Scale 2 T scores were not affected by age, peak-analysis showed that older patients more often have Scale 2 peaks. This results from decreases in T scores on the other scales, rather than increases on Scale 2. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The MMPI and recidivism.

Compared MMPIs of 80 recidivists and 68 parole successes from a state training school by analyzing mean scale scores, elevations, code types, and mean ranks of the clinical scales. No important differences were identified. Conclusions are (1) the MMPI used alone is not useful in identifying recidivists in relatively homogeneous delinquent populations, (2) its use should be restricted to the exploration of small differences between groups, and (3) the combined use of historical information and the MMPI to identify recidivists needs study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Schizophrenia is usually psychogenic.

Comments on D. L. Johnson's (see record 1989-29564-001) view of schizophrenia as a brain disease and on H. P. Lefley's (see record 1989-29581-001) view that families have been stigmatized for their role in major mental illness. Based on clinical experience, it is argued that families can indeed be psychogenic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The MMPI and chronic pain.

112 chronic pain patients (mean age 48.4 yrs) completed the MMPI upon entering either an anesthesiologic or a psychiatric treatment program. Pretreatment MMPI performance was found to be successful in predicting patient outcome an average of 20 mo following treatment, with the K (Test-Taking Attitude), Hypochondriasis, Hysteria, and Masculinity and Femininity scales accounting for most of the variance. The strength of this relationship varied as a function of the measure of outcome and type of treatment received. Substantial MMPI differences were found when Ss with only one part of their body in pain were compared with those with multiple pain complaints. Significant MMPI differences were also found in comparisons based on Ss' sex, type of pain (e.g., head vs back), and type of treatment for which was referred (i.e., psychiatric vs anesthesiologic). Clinical implications of the observed MMPI differences are discussed. Results are seen as demonstrating the value of the MMPI as a clinical and research instrument within this population. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparisons of the MMPI and Mini-Mult.

Compared the MMPI with 2 forms of the Mini-Mult test, 1 extracted from the full MMPI and 1 administered separately. Across 6 samples of psychiatric patients (N = 252), correlations between comparable scales ranged from .33-.96, with the extracted form having a higher median correlation. High-point codes derived from both forms of the Mini-Mult yielded poor agreement with MMPI codes, especially for the separately administered Mini-Mult. It is concluded that the Mini-Mult is not a reliable substitute for the MMPI, but can be used to estimate global pathology. (French summary) (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

OBJECTIONS TO MMPI ITEMS.

THIS STUDY WAS CONCERNED WITH OBJECTIONS MADE BY COLLEGE STUDENTS TO MMPI QUESTIONS IN 2 EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS. IN THE "GENERAL" CONDITION, 68 SS WERE ASKED TO TAKE THE MMPI BUT TO OMIT ALL ITEMS THAT THEY WOULD CONSIDER OBJECTIONABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. IN THE "SELECTION" CONDITION, 69 SS WERE INSTRUCTED TO OMIT QUESTIONS THEY WOULD FIND OBJECTIONABLE IN A JOB-SELECTION SITUATION. THE ANALYSIS OF RESULTS WAS CONCERNED WITH INDIVIDUAL REACTIONS, WITH DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE 2 CONDITIONS, WITH DETERMINING WHICH TYPES OF ITEM CONTENT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A HIGH OR LOW PERCENTAGE OF OBJECTIONS, AND WITH THE IMPLICATIONS OF REMOVING ITEMS WITH HIGH OBJECTION RATES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ambiguity in the MMPI.

MMPI items were rated for ambiguity on a 5-point scale and were also answered under standard instructions by male and female introductory psychology students. Lower ambiguity ratings of female Ss were interpreted in terms of role or habit patterns of females in our culture. Mean ambiguity values for selected MMPI scales revealed high ambiguity for both sexes, independent of order effects, for items keyed on the K, Pd, Pt, Ma, and Welsh A scales, and low ambiguity for items on the L, F, Hs, Mf, and Welsh R scales. Significant intercorrelations were found between total ambiguity scores of individual Ss and scores on Hs, Si, and Sc, with a negative relationship between ambiguity and K. These results suggest a relationship between ego control and perceived ambiguity in the items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Management of impotence. Diagnostic considerations and therapeutic options

Impotence affects an estimated 10 million American men. The cause is usually organic in men over age 50; psychogenic impotence is more common in younger men. Vascular disease is the most common cause of impotence. Evaluation in patients with impotence includes thorough history taking and diagnostic testing. Once the cause of impotence is determined, appropriate management can be chosen. Current therapeutic options include vacuum tumescence devices, self-injection, oral therapy, psychotherapy, and penile prostheses.     

MMPI clinical scale correlates.

Discusses and compares the results of 7 independent studies that have attempted empirically to identify the behavioral or symptom correlates of individual MMPI clinical scales for psychiatric patients. Symptom correlates, in general, tend to provide construct validity for the "traditional" interpretation of individual scales. The correlations are uniformly quite low, however, and individual scales evidence relatively few instances of unique discrimination. Major symptom correlates for individual scales also tend to be significantly related to 2-point profile codes that include the individual scales, although there are obvious differences that may be associated with scale profiles. Some possible interactions of scale correlates with race, sex, and clinical setting are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culturally diverse groups and MMPI interpretation.

In this article I suggest that culturally determined thought processes, including ethnocentrism, world view, and etic preoccupation predispose interpretation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to unintentional bias as a result of minimization of consistent group differences in item responding. Group personality as evidenced by group consciousness has been described by identity measures for Afro-Americans and acculturation indices for Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Instruments for world view measurement have been developed from several perspectives. Research on the potential cultural content of differences in MMPI item responding by Afro-Americans and other cultural groups continues to be necessary, although a more systematic approach to interpretation that includes identity and world view measures is now feasible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brain lesions and five MMPI items.

A 29-item scale was developed using 30 + 30 Ss and .05 level X2 values, for differentiating patients with CNS diseases from those without. Upon cross-validation, the scale differentiated too poorly for clinical use. The X2 values of 5 of the original 29 items towered above the others, and when these 5 were used with cross-validation groups, a cuttingpoint score of 4 on them differentiated above the .01 level of significance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatments of psychogenic female sexual dysfunctions.

Evaluates research evidence on the effectiveness of the treatments of psychogenic female sexual dysfunctions. Included are analyses of design, methodology, and outcome criteria. The studies are reviewed within 7 categories: individual verbal psychotherapy, couple reeducation, systematic desensitization, extensive retraining programs, combination approaches, group therapy, and vaginal exercise. Over half of the studies were case reports. The studies reflected various methodological weaknesses, including the confounding of treatment procedures, the failure to control for the differential treatment effects on the types of disorders, and the failure to use valid and reliable methods of data collection. Treatment successes were usually defined differently across the studies, a characteristic that inhibits the generalizability of the findings. Various methods of systematic desensitization have been successful in treating vaginismus, dyspareunia, orgasmic dysfunctions, and feelings of aversion toward sexual stimulation. Retraining programs seem to be effective in treating orgasmic dysfunctions. Recommendations for future research include the suggestion that controlled investigations should determine the most effective treatment methods for each of the dysfunctions. (71 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term stability of MMPI profiles.

Although current use of the MMPI places strong emphasis on the pattern or profile of scores, there is no available evidence as to the short-term stability of the MMPI profile. Therefore, 42 hospital volunteer workers and 40 hospitalized psychiatric patients were retested with the MMPI with mean test-retest intervals of 1.0 and 2.2 days, respectively. Profile stability was measured by computing product-moment correlations for each S's 2 sets of scale scores and by analyzing the rank-order stability of the 3 highest scores. The profile correlations were high, with median correlations of .87 for the patients and .82 for the volunteers. However, there was appreciable instability in the rankings of the 3 highest scores. The implications of the findings for clinical and research use of the MMPI are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI correlates of social and physical anhedonia.

The construct validity of scales measuring social and physical anhedonia (L. J. Chapman et al, 1976) was investigated by performing simple and canonical correlation analyses of clinical, content, and pure scales from the MMPI. Ss were 243 consecutively admitted male veterans (mean age 31.87 yrs) in an inpatient drug dependence treatment program. Results support predictions that anhedonia, defined as a deficiency in the ability to experience pleasure, would be associated with social maladjustment and confused thinking and, further, that anhedonia scales would measure personality characteristics other than depression. Social anhedonia and physical anhedonia were associated with the clinical scales Validity and Social Introversion, the content scales Social Maladjustment and Psychoticism, and Pure Scale 7, which measures characteristics associated with the 278 MMPI profile type and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (2nd edition) equivalents of "schizophrenia, latent type." Degree of association was stronger for scales measuring social anhedonia, contrary to the test authors' speculations that the measure of physical anhedonia would be the more promising of the 2 scales. The construct validity of personality assessment suggested that further study is warranted, particularly to determine other aspects of everyday living that may be implicated in measures of social and physical anhedonia. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnicity and MMPI performance: A review.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) performance as a function of ethnic group membership was reviewed in Asian Americans, Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. There did not appear to be a simple relation between ethnic group membership and MMPI performance, either within or between such populations as normal individuals, psychiatric patients, prisoners, or substance abuse patients. Moderator variables, such as social class, education, and type of setting, seem to play an important role in determining the specific pattern of scores that are found. There is a paucity of studies that have investigated whether there are any empirical correlates of the obtained differences when two ethnic groups are compared on the MMPI, that is, investigations of the external validity of the MMPI in various ethnic groups. It seems premature to conclude that new norms for the MMPI are needed for specific ethnic groups without additional research that examines the issues raised in this review. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

MMPI and race: A controlled study.

A 4-way, mixed-model, repeated-measures ANOVA; 13 1-way, balanced-cell ANOVA; and chi-square analyses of scales, items, high-points, number of scales with T?≥?70, and 4 high-scale categories were performed on MMPI results of 462 Black and White psychiatric patients matched for sex, age, residence, employment, years of education, marital status, socioeconomic status, and hospital status. Contrary to what has been reported previously, results indicate no differences beyond chance for any of the dependent variables. This finding is attributed to unique initial matching on crucial variables. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Female criminal violence and differential MMPI characteristics.

Used a cross-validational approach to compare MMPI scale elevations and profile patterns produced by 22 female murderers and 40 female nonviolent offenders in 2 geographic regions. Ss did not differ between groups in race distribution, age, education, age at or months served on current offense, total time incarcerated, or intellectual level. Ss also completed the Shipley-Institute of Living Scale for Measuring Intellectual Impairment and the Raven Progressive Matrices. Murderers from both prison sources produced subdued group mean profiles, whereas nonviolent offenders were characterized by elevations on Scale 4. Discriminant function classification was highly dependent on scores on Scales 4, 5, K, and A and correctly identified 82% of violent and 78% of nonviolent offenders. A principal-components analysis yielded 5 components of profile types, but only the component defined by high positive loadings for Scale 4 differentiated between the groups. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)