Rorschach Responses and Aggressive Characteristics of MMPI F>16 Scorers

Psychiatric patients with MMPI F>16 scores (E group) were matched with patients having similar diagnosis but F scores of 3-12 (C group) to assess personality characteristics of high F scorers. In Experiment I, E and C group Rorschachs showed no significant differences on formal scored characteristics. E group patients marked a significantly greater number of “obvious” than “subtle” MMPI items. In Experiment II, there was no significant E and C group difference in Rorschach aggressive content. Data from the hospital charts indicated that F>16 scorers had a significantly higher frequency of overt, actively directed anger and suicidal behavior plus a greater total incidence of hostile behavior across a variety of categories.     

The evaluation of truthfulness in alleged sex offenders' self-reports: 16PF and MMPI validity scales.

The evaluation of response bias (i.e., minimization or exaggeration) is central to forensic psychological evaluations. Yet few studies have assessed forensic samples to investigate the ability of psychological tests to detect response bias. We studied the relationship between the Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) validity scales for 65 alleged sex offenders and assessed the effects of different cutoff scores for the 16PF validity scales. Results indicate consistent significant correlations between the validity scales of the 16PF and the MMPI for measures of minimization and exaggeration. use of a priori cutoff scores resulted in the classification of our sample in proportions parallel to those found in previous research for the 16PF Fake-Good scale but not the Fake-Bad scale. Our results indicate that 16PF validity scales are useful, but interpretations must take into account different base rates of response bias between sex offenders and the general population.     

The Consistency Between Scores of the Harris-Lingoes Subscales of the MMPI and MMPI-2

This study investigates the consistency between scores of the Harris-Lingoes subscales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the MMPI-2. College students (200 men and 200 women) were randomly assigned to either the original to original condition, where they took the MMPI twice, or the original to revised condition, where they took the MMPI and MMPI-2. Results indicate relative consistency in the item and normative changes between the Harris-Lingoes subscales of the MMPI and MMPI-2. These results suggest that the recommendation of a clinical significance score of T > 65 for the MMPI-2 scales should not be applied to the Harris-Lingoes subscales.     

A Canonical-Correlation Analysis of 16 Fear Factors and the MMPI

To determine clinical correlates of 16 fear factors of the Wolpe-Lang Fear Survey Schedule, the fear factor and MMPI scores of 92 psychiatric inpatients were subjected to a canonical-correlation analysis. The results produced three combinations of scores which yielded statistically reliable canonical-correlation coefficients: three fear factors related to psychotic levels of personality disorganization; two related to fairly directly experienced neurotic anxiety; and five related to neurotic levels of anxiety “bound” by somatic complaints. The results suggest different treatment approaches for different patterns of expressed fears. The interpretation of several of the factors (previously related to clinical status) awaits further research.     

The Influence of Elevated F Scales on the Validity of Adolescent MMPI Profiles

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPI) of adolescent outpatients were examined to determine whether characteristically elevated F scales indicated an exaggeration of psychopathology. A treatment condition designed to reduce the motivation to exaggerate psychopathology did not lower scores of the F and F-K indices when subjects were administered a second MMPI. Similarly, actuarial interpretations for the second protocols were not more frequently selected by therapists as more valid, regardless of treatment condition and elevation of the F and F-K indices on the first MMPI profile. Elevations of Scales F, Pd4, and Sc8 characterized the adolescent MMPI profiles.     

The influence of elevated F scales on the validity of adolescent MMPI profiles

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPI) of adolescent outpatients were examined to determine whether characteristically elevated F scales indicated an exaggeration of psychopathology. A treatment condition designed to reduce the motivation to exaggerate psychopathology did not lower scores of the F and F-K indices when subjects were administered a second MMPI. Similarly, actuarial interpretations for the second protocols were not more frequently selected by therapists as more valid, regardless of treatment condition and elevation of the F and F-K indices on the first MMPI profile. Elevations of Scales F, Pd/4, and Sc/8 characterized the adolescent MMPI profiles.     

MMPI scale development methodology

A multitude of special MMPI scales have been developed without sufficient consideration for the methodology of empirical scale construction. Suggestions are presented in this article regarding the selection of items for a new MMPI scale and the tasks needed for the evaluation of a new scale. An investigator who develops a new MMPI scale should consider (a) the need for K corrections of scale scores, and (b) the possibility that the information provided by the special scale can also be obtained from the standard MMPI scales.     

Estimation of MCMI DSM-III axis II constructs from MMPI scales and subscales

Wiggins, Harris and Lingoes, and Serkownek Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores were used to predict Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) scores in a 100-patient sample. Equations from the first sample were cross-validated on a sample of 212 inmate subjects. We conclude that scores on 19 of the 20 MCMI scales can be successfully predicted by the Wiggins, Harris and Lingoes, and Serkownek subscales of the MMPI. In further cross-validation, the equations were used to predict the Morey, Waugh, and Blashfield MMPI composites for the prison sample, again with strongly positive results. The results appear quite promising for the estimation of personality disorder constructs from MMPI scales and subscales.     

16PF in screening for appropriateness of mentors

The utility of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Fifth Edition (16PF) as an indicator of mentor effectiveness was examined. A random sample of the 16PF scores of 74 mentors was drawn from a population of 837 mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Caseworkers rated mentor's effectiveness using a rubric developed for this purpose. The rubric showed good interrater agreement. Caseworkers' ratings of mentor's effectiveness was used to rate mentors systematically as appropriate or inappropriate. The 16PF scores of mentors were compared at an alpha level of .05 for appropriate and inappropriate groups using independent t tests and multivariate analyses of variance, which reflected significant differences between male and female mentors on Factors E and Q3. Significant differences were also found between "appropriate" and "inappropriate" mentors on Factors L and Q4. These differences reflected only moderate effect sizes and lacked practical significance or meaning. The results suggest that, while the 16PF discriminates statistically between "appropriate" and "inappropriate" mentors, in terms of practical significance, the questionnaire is not particularly useful as an initial screening tool.     

Differentiating between schizophrenic and manic inpatients by means of the MMPI

Forty-five psychiatric inpatients with DSM-III diagnoses of schizophrenia and 31 inpatients with DSM-III diagnoses of bipolar disorder (and currently manic) were compared on the MMPI. Results indicated that although the schizophrenic patients achieved significantly higher scores on several of the MMPI scales (F, Pt, Sc, Si), these findings were of questionable clinical significance. On the other hand, the schizophrenic group did produce a significantly greater percentage of MMPI high-point pairs containing Scale 8(Sc): that is, 64.4% versus 35.5%.     

MMPI code types and the fantasy prone personality

We administered the MMPI and the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imagining (ICMI) to 1,200 college students. Application of diagnostic efficiency statistics for the ability of differing ICMI cutoff scores to identify college students producing a schizophrenia spectrum MMPI code type revealed that scores greater than or equal to 29 on the ICMI had good positive predictive power. Scores less than 29 on the ICMI had very good negative predictive power. ICMI scores were also used to form a group of fantasizers (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). Fantasizers were much more likely to produce MMPI codes associated with a vulnerability to schizophrenia (70%) than were controls (3.33%). Although most controls(70%) produced non-elevated MMPI scores, 66.67% of the fantasizers produced three or more elevated clinical scales on the MMPI. The modal MMPI profile for the fantasizers was an 8-9 code, indicating that fantasizers appear at heightened risk for eccentric thinking and a Cluster A or B personality organization.     

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.     

Race and the differential "power" of the MMPI.

The interpretation that blacks' tendency to score higher on MMPI clinical scales is due to educational deprivation has been challenged by research in which, when educatation was held constant, race-related differences remained. Racial differences in type of psychopathology have seldom been controlled in part research. After establishing that a grester proportion of black psychiatric patients may receive a schizophrenic diagnosis (Study 1), MMPI protocols of black and white schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic psychiatric patients were obtained. All patients had received 12 or more years of education. Schizophrenics scored significantly higher on the MMPI F and Sc scales and nonschizophrenics tended to score higher on Pd. No race-related differences were observed on any of the 11 MMPI scales considered.     

A comparison of MMPI profiles for state and private disability insurance applicants

The use of the MMPI in predicting successful rehabilitation outcomes has met with limited success. Because the motives of a disability insurance applicant may differ greatly from a disability insurance recipient, disability applicants were investigated. The MMPI scores of state disability applicants and private industrial insurance applicants were compared to a control group. Positive outcomes of test taking was possible for all three groups. Significant group differences were found for scales F, Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma. Significant sex differences were found for scales Hs, D, Hy, Mf, Pt, and Sc.     

Autonomic Balance and Reactivity in Relation to Indices of Psychopathology on the MMPI

Changes in MMPI scores of 20 depressed patients (from placebo to drug) were correlated with changes in autonomic balance. In a second study, MMPI scores of 13 galvanic skin “reactors” and 25 “nonreactors” were compared.

Results suggest that the MMPI is sensitive to differences in autonomic balance and reactivity and to apparent parasympathetic shifts and that autonomic non-reactivity to neutral stimuli in the environment may be indicative of severe psychopathology.     

Racial identity and the MMPI in African American male college students

The relation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to the Racial Identity Attitude Scale--Black, Short Form (RIAS-B) was examined among 50 African American male college students in a reanalysis of unpublished MMPI data described in R. H. Dana (1993). This permitted study of relationships between MMPI scores and specific psychological variables hypothesized to produce cultural differences among African Americans. Results indicated RIAS-B scale scores functioned as predictors of MMPI scale scores. Similar research with the MMPI-2 incorporating larger samples that more adequately represent African American heterogeneity is needed. Methodological implications of these findings for MMPI-2 research with ethnic and racial groups are discussed, emphasizing the importance of research to depathologize African American racial and cultural identity.     

The use of the MMPI special scales in the assessment of delinquent personality.

The MMPI was administered to 401 adjudicated male juvenile offenders, ages 13 to 17, who had been referred to a juvenile court mental health unit for recommendations in court disposition. Mean T scores generated by 86 MMPI clinical and supplementary scales were tabulated and analyzed as to their relationships with completed court offense histories. Twenty-eight of these scales that best described and discriminated between high and low levels of recidivism, crime severity, assault, and property offenses were identified, profiled, and discussed. Data were analyzed by a suggested T-score cutoff of 1.5 standard deviations, univariate, and multivariate (discriminant) analysis. Scales that best discriminated between high and low levels of recidivism and property offenses were Pd (Psychopathic Deviance), Ma1 (Amorality), Pd2 (Authority Problems), Re (Social Responsibility), and MAC (MacAndrew Alcoholism). Low scores on Re (Social Responsibility), Es (Ego Strength), Cn (Control), and St (Social Status) best discriminated between high and low levels of crime severity. High and low levels of assault were best differentiated by Ma3 (Imperturbability), Scale 5 (Masculinity-Femininity), and Pa2 (Poignancy). Although the linear combination of Scales F, 4, 8, and 9 has some utility in the areas of recidivism and property offenses, its discriminative ability is extremely poor for levels of assault and crime severity.     

Estimation of MCMI DSM-III Axis II Constructs From MMPI Scales and Subscales

Wiggins, Harris and Lingoes, and Serkownek Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores were used to predict Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MGMI) scores in a 100-patient sample. Equations from the first sample were cross-validated on a sample of 212 inmate subjects. We conclude that scores on 19 of the 20 MCMI scales can be successfully predicted by the Wiggins, Harris and Lingoes, and Serkownek subscales of the MMPI. In further cross-validation, the equations were used to predict the Morey, Waugh, and Blashfield MMPI composites for the prison sample, again with strongly positive results. The results appear quite promising for the estimation of personality disorder constructs from MMPI scales and subscales.     

大学生皮肤电反应、MMPI及其关系的初步研究

应用日产Ｓａｎ－ｅｉｌＡ９７Ａ型脑电图机及ＭＭＰＩ（中国版本）对２６名大学生进行了皮肤电反应记录及人格特征的测查。结果表明：（１）普通大学生中皮电基础水平个体差异十分明显。（２）皮电平均每分钟自发波动次数与ＭＭＰＩ中的Ｄ、Ｓｉ、Ｍａｓ、Ｃｎ呈显著正相关,与Ｌ、Ｋ呈显著负相关。皮电平均每分钟自发波动幅度与Ｆ、Ｄ、Ｍａｓ呈显著正相关;与Ｌ呈显著负相关。（３）皮电基础水平高组与低组在Ｌ、Ｓｉ、Ｍａｓ之Ｔ分上的差异达显著水平。（４）习惯化倾向差组与优组在Ｋ、Ｓｔ、ＭａｓＴ分的差异有显著意义,差组与中组在Ｓｉ、ＣｎＴ分上有显著性差异。（５）习惯化倾向差组皮电基础水平较高;优组皮电基础水平较低,两组差异达显著水平。     

Validation of an MMPI short form with literate and illiterate patients

An Improved Readability Form (IRF) of the MMPI was orally administered to 100 literate and 119 illiterate patients, and 140 literate patients were given the full MMPI with standard instructions. Profile comparisons of the MMPI with the IRF given to literates or extracted from the full MMPI yielded only small differences. The much larger differences in the IRF profiles of the illiterates were removed by controlling statistically for sex, race, age, and education. The IRF, when given to literate patients, was a good substitute for the full MMPI in predicting Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores. For the illiterates, the two most salient relationships with scores on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale were preserved, but several weaker associations were qualitatively altered. When the IRF is administered to illiterate patients, the pattern of clinical correlates may differ from those obtained with literate patients given the IRF or MMPI.