MMPI screening scales for somatization disorder

44 items on the MMPI were identified which appear to correspond to some of the symptoms in nine of the 10 groups on the Perley-Guze checklist for somatization disorder (hysteria). This list was organized into two scales, one reflecting the total number of symptoms endorsed and the other the number of organ systems with at least one endorsed symptom. Full MMPIs were then obtained from 29 women with primary affective disorder and 37 women with somatization disorder as part of a follow-up study of a consecutive series of 500 psychiatric clinic patients seen at Washington University. Women with the diagnosis of somatization disorder scored significantly higher on the somatization disorder scales created from the 44 items than did women with only major depression. These new scales appeared to be slightly more effective in identifying somatization disorder than the use of the standard MMPI scales for hypochondriasis and hysteria. Further development is needed.     

Social desirability and Wiggin's MMPI content scales.

Using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) item pool, Wiggins (1966) developed 13 scales, each with a homogeneous content. The 13 scales, along with marker scales for the 1st 3 MMPI factors, Edward's social desirability (SD), Welsh's repression (R), and Wiggins's social desirability (Sd) respectively were scored in the MMPI. The same scales were scored in an Experimental Multiphasic Personality Inventory (EMPI). A principal-components analysis of the 16 scales when scored in the MMPI resulted in 4 factors. A principal-components analysis of these same scales when scored in the MMPI and when scored in the EMPI were found to be highly congruent. The SD, R, and Sd scales proved to be excellent markers for the 1st 3 factors of the MMPI and also for the 1st 3 factors of the EMPI. Results provide further evidence that the 1st MMPI factor is a social desirability factor rather than a content factor.     

Note on the relationship between nude figure drawings and the MMPI scales

MMPI protocols of 40 asthmatic patients who produced nude DAPs were compared to a matched control group of equal number, Independent t tests computed for the validity and clinical scales of the MMPI between groups yielded not a single statistically significant difference. In contrast to the importance generally ascribed to global ratings of DAP figures, the global rating of nudity on DAP drawings did not differentiate any aspect of personality as measured by the MMPI.     

MMPI substance abuse scales on drug addicts with and without concurrent alcoholism

The range and utility of the MMPI-derived MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC) and the Heroin Addiction Scale (He) was assessed with a large sample of drug addicts with and without concurrent alcoholism. Results indicated that addicts with a co-existing alcohol problem obtained higher MAC scores than addicts without a current alcohol problem. Opiate abusers scored higher on the MAC than non-opiate abusers. No such effects were observed with the He scale. The MAC is a particularly robust scale that taps generic substance abuse and may even be sensitive enough to detect alcoholism in drug addicts.     

Profile validity standards for MMPI and MMPI-2 F scales

Although numerous indices of validity have been developed for the MMPI and MMPI-2, interest in the F scale and its variants continues, especially among practicing clinicians. The use of the binomial for assessing standards for random answering and possibly for judgments of malingering offers another approach for the interpretation of F-scale scores. The theoretical binomial distribution and Monte Carlo data are in accord. Cut-off scores of 24 for the MMPI and 23 for the MMPI-2 suggest random responses, and scores of 40 and 37, respectively, suggest clinical interpretation rather than randomness of responding.     

MMPI validity scales and behavioral disturbance in psychiatric inpatients.

Sixty psychiatric inpatients were assigned to one of three groups on the basis of F and K MMPI validity scales. Staff ratings of patient behavior and recorded incidents of "acting-out" behavior were obtained for patients with: (a) "plea for help" validity profiles, (b) hyper-defensive profiles, and (c) average profiles. Patients with "plea for help" profiles were perceived as "acting-out" more frequently and engendering more feelings of frustration than patients in the other groups. These patients account for 77% of the incidents of inappropriate, destructive behavior and 83% of the seclusions in the patients sampled. Although the "plea for help" profile is considered invalid in some scoring systems, results suggest that this validity profile may be useful in treatment planning.     

EMG scanning: Normative data

Surface EMG was recorded from both right and left aspects of 18 muscle groups for the purpose of establishing a data base of normative EMG levels. A scanning electrode permitted easy and rapid EMG measurement from 52 male and 51 female college students, both sitting and standing. Several a posteriori analyses of variance revealed sex differences in the masseter, occipital, posterior cervical, upper trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and anterior tibialis. Similarly, there were side differences for the anterior temporalis, occipitalis, splenius capitus, trapezius, paraspinalis, and soleus. The analyses also revealed interactions among sex, position, and side for various measures on the trapezius. The data show that females tend to muscle brace more than males in the upper extremities. The study provides data for normative comparisons and helps to plan and interpret future EMG studies.