Usefulness of structural Rorschach data in identifying inpatients with depressive symptoms: a preliminary study

To explore the usefulness of various structural Rorschach data in identifying psychiatric inpatients with symptoms of depression, 54 adult inpatients were administered a Rorschach. Results indicated that the Comprehensive System, Rorschach Depression Index did not identify many of these individuals as depressed, but did identify most of the extratensive depressed individuals. Each variable included in the Depression Index and other potential, Rorschach correlations of depression were also investigated. Most of them were found to occur more often among these depressed patients than among nonpatients. Furthermore, adding other variables and using more liberal cutoffs may result in more accurate identification of patients with depressive symptoms.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: a critical review

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ; Blatt, D'Afflitti, & Quinlan, 1976) is critically reviewed. First the developmental, object representations theory differentiating depression into anaclitic and introjective subtypes is presented. The DEQ factors of Dependency and Self-Criticism were initially found to be consistent with these clinically meaningful depressive subtypes. Subsequent research has generally demonstrated that these subtypes, at least as measured by the DEQ, do not hold up well in clinical populations. Furthermore, the validity of the developmental theory of these subtypes is weak. We suggest that more internally consistent and distinct factors should be developed from clinical populations because of their potential clinical usefulness.     

Problems in Rorschach research and what to do about them

This article identifies many interrelated problems that interfere with progress in Rorschach research. These include vague hypotheses, confounded comparisons, failure to control extraneous variables; misuse of statistics, and distorted interpretation of results. Two crucial solutions to address many of these problems are offered: knowing the data and paling out rival hypotheses. Underlying conceptual confusions are addressed and prototypical examples derived from the literature, are discussed is the hope of improving the scientific foundation of the Rorschach.     

Maximizing internal and external validity in MMPI malingering research: a study of a military population

The authors investigated the effectiveness of various commonly used Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) indices of exaggeration and malingering in detecting suspected malingering in a military sample of 121 enlisted men. To maximize external validity, only men undergoing psychological evaluation were used as participants. Forty-one participants were identified as suspected malingerers through multiple criteria and were contrasted with schizophrenic-spectrum and clinic outpatient groups. To improve internal validity, the 41 suspected malingering participants were asked to retake the test without exaggerating. Results revealed that there were many false positives and fewer, but nonetheless many, false negatives with standard malingering indices. It appeared that the Gough Dissimulation scale (Gough, 1947) might hold the most promise as a measure of malingering, but other scales are also useful. Individual comparisons between different samples and implications for MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 1989) are presented.     

Data and issues to consider in reconciling self-report and the Rorschach

Archer and Krishnamurthy (1993a, 1993b) systematically reviewed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-Rorschach research and found that there is minimal if any association between the two tests. In response to this review, data are reported demonstrating a positive association between various Rorschach variables and objective criteria. Data gleaned from published and yet unpublished sources suggest that the Rorschach is related to various self-report, other-report, and behavioral criteria, with children and adults, for psychosis and other constructs. Data are also presented suggesting that part of the disagreement between the two tests may be due to different types of response bias and positive self-presentations on the two tests. Research findings pertinent to differential validity as a function of the number of Rorschach responses protocol are also explored. I conclude with research recommendations regarding test-specific understandings of response bias and Rorschach protocol complexity as a moderator variable.     

Measuring How We Preach What We Practice: Psychoeducational Change in Depressed Inpatients

This study investigated the relationship between acquisition of psychoeducational principles and symptomatic improvement in depressed in-patients. One hundred and twenty-three inpatients hospitalized on a Cognitive Therapy Unit were administered the Test of Cognitive Behavioral Principles (TCBP) and the Beck Depression Inventory at admission and discharge. It was predicted that the TCBP scores would be higher at discharge than at pre-testing at admission. Further, it was hypothesized that the higher TCBP scores at post-test would be significantly correlated with lower Beck Depression Inventory scores at post-test. The results revealed that inpatients' TCBP scores improved over the course of treatment supporting the first hypothesis. However, the data did not support the second hypothesis as there was not a significant relationship between the TCBP scores and the BDI scores at discharge. The results are discussed in terms of clinical, theoretical, and methodological implications.     

The temporal stability of some Rorschach features

One hundred nonpatient adults, screened for evidence of personality disorganization, were retested after a three-year interval to study the temporal consistency of the Rorschach. In general, the correlational analysis for 19 basic variables studied, and a directionality analysis for five ratios, illustrate a considerable sturdiness over time. It is postulated that these variables can be separated into situational related indices (state variables), and more stable scores indicative of durable response styles (trait variables), based on the assumption that variables with lower correlations would identify state variables, while the higher correlations would signify the trait features. Nine of the 19 variables yield retest correlations in excess of.     

Refinements in the Rorschach Ego Impairment Index incorporating the human representational variable

The Ego Impairment Index (EII; Perry & Viglione, 1991) is a composite measure of psychological impairment and thought disturbance developed from the empirical and theoretical literature on the Rorschach. In this article, we summarize reliability and validity data regarding the EII. Our major goal was to present the rationale and empirical basis for recent refinements in the EII. Among the subcomponents of the original EII was the Human Experience variable (HEV), which has recently been revised and replaced with the Human Representational variable (HRV; Viglione, Perry, Jansak, Meyer, & Exner, 2003). In this study, we replaced the HEV with the HRV to create the EII-2. This was accomplished by recalculating the factor coefficients with a sample of 363 Rorschach protocols. We present additional validity data for the new EII-2. Research recommendations and interpretive guidelines are also presented.     

Evading detection on the MMPI-2: does caution produce more realistic patterns of responding?

Studies on MMPI and MMPI-2 malingering indexes often sacrifice generalizability in an attempt to control internal validity. This study improves external validity while still maintaining internal validity by providing graduate student participants with a realistic context for malingering on the MMPI-2 (n=94) and MMPI (n=30). Contextual parameters include a realistic life predicament, psychological knowledge, an incentive, the presence versus absence of a specific diagnosis, and a caution to be realistic. This study found that cautioning participants not to overexaggerate their responses significantly improves their ability to evade detection on the MMPI-2 and MMPI. Standard malingering indexes (Infrequency, F; Back Side, F, Fb; F-Correction, F-K; and Infrequency-Psychopathology, F(p)) were insufficiently sensitive in identifying simulators using common cutoff scores for these cautious simulators.     

Severe Disturbance or Trauma-Induced Adaptive Reaction: A Rorschach Child Case Study

In interpreting children's Rorschachs, it is often difficult to discriminate between a severe disturbance and an adaptive reaction to a trauma. To explore this difficult differential diagnostic issue, a child was tested three times. It was suggested that complexity, references to the trauma, and evidence of psychological disturbance are associated with an attempt to master the trauma. Rorschach data were presented and were found to be consistent with these speculations. The author concluded that such "openness" to an environmental stress may allow an adaptive reaction and that understanding Rorschach data in context helps to reduce ambiguity and to recognize the test's limitations.