The adolescent form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-A) Structural Summar... more The adolescent form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-A) Structural Summary was developed from the results of a scale-level factor analysis conducted by Archer, Belevich, and Elkins based on the MMPI-A normative sample. The present study examined the scale-level factor structure of the MMPI-A in a clinical sample of 358 adolescents receiving outpatient or inpatient psychiatric services. A Principal Factor Analysis was performed using the raw score intercorrelation matrix from the 69 scales and subscales of the MMPI-A. The procedure yielded nine factors that accounted for 75.6% of the total variance in scale and subscale raw scores. Results from this clinical sample indicated that seven of the eight dimensions that appear on the MMPI-A Structural Summary were replicated in terms of producing highly similar factor structure correlation coefficients with those reported by Archer, Belevich, et al. for a normal sample. The present findings support the use of the MM...
Child custody evaluations are among the most difficult of forensic evaluations. The current paper... more Child custody evaluations are among the most difficult of forensic evaluations. The current paper examines differences between custody evaluations and other types of psychological and forensic evaluations. We also discuss important ethical issues regarding these evaluations and review the typical components of a custody evaluation, with particular attention on psychological testing as a component of custody evaluations. We then discuss the role of research in informing the interpretation of the evaluation data and provide a complete sample custody evaluation report to illustrate several points from the manuscript.
Compared with opiate addicts, alcoholics scored higher on the Hs (hypochondriasis), D (depression... more Compared with opiate addicts, alcoholics scored higher on the Hs (hypochondriasis), D (depression), Hy (hysteria). A (anxiety) and MacAndrew Scales of the MMPI and lower on the K (defensiveness). Ma (activity) and Es (ego strength) scales, but age was the most powerful discriminator between the two groups.
This study examined the combined responses of husbands and wives within 785 Navy families on five... more This study examined the combined responses of husbands and wives within 785 Navy families on five subscales from the Moos and Moos (1981) Family Environment Scale (FES) and from the Life Experiences Scale (LES), a measure of life stress developed by Sarason, ...
This study examines the ability of five self-report assessment measures to predict college studen... more This study examines the ability of five self-report assessment measures to predict college students' drug use across 12 pharmacological drug categories. Subjects were 125 female and 61 male university undergraduate students. The test battery included the following instruments: the Psychopathic Deviancy (Pd) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI); the MacAndrew Alcoholism scale (MAC), a special scale of the MMPI; the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS); the Millon Alcohol Abuse Scale; and the Millon Drug Abuse Scale. Scores from these instruments were utilized in linear combinations to predict individual drug use outcomes as well as polydrug versus single drug use patterns. The drug categories included in this investigation are coffee, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, tranquilizers, depressants, amphetamines, LSD, other hallucinogens, solvents, narcotics, and cocaine. Results demonstrate significant and meaningful relationships between predictors and drug use levels among college students. Weighted equations derived from linear discriminant function analyses were generally capable of accurately classifying subject's drug use levels across drug categories and in discriminating single drug use from polydrug use patterns. Typically, the Sensation Seeking Scale entered as the most powerful predictor of substance use and abuse.
Although substantial research literature on the effects of random responding on the MMPI-2 exists... more Although substantial research literature on the effects of random responding on the MMPI-2 exists, there is very limited data available on this issue with the MMPI-A. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of selected MMPI-A validity scales in detecting differences in response patterns between protocols produced by 354 adolescents assessed in clinical settings and a group of 354 randomly produced MMPI-A protocols. Results indicate that MMPI-A validity and basic clinical scales differ significantly between random and clinical groups and that MMPI-A validity Scales F, F1, F2, and VRIN appear to be most useful in correctly identifying protocols from actual clinical participants versus randomly generated response patterns. Findings are discussed in terms of the dramatic effects of the sample base rate for random responding on overall classification accuracy results. Furthermore, it was noted that the optimal cutting scores for MMPI-A Scales F, F1, F2, and VRIN were largely consistent with interpretive recommendations found in the test manual (Butcher et al., 1992) when the relative frequency of random response protocols to clinical protocols was evaluated at a ratio of 1:10. Finally, future recommendations for evaluation of the F1-F2 difference score and the TRIN scale are offered in terms of the most relevant research designs to evaluate these measures.
We undertook this study to provide empirically derived interpretative recommendations for the MMP... more We undertook this study to provide empirically derived interpretative recommendations for the MMPI-A Structural Summary through an evaluation of factor elevation patterns. We examined the frequency of single-factor, two-factor, and multifactor elevations in a clinical sample of 363 adolescents receiving inpatient, outpatient, or residential treatment. Two methods of determining factor elevation (a simple majority of scales and subscales within a specific factor with T-score elevations at critical level, versus the mean T score generated by all the scales and subscales for each factor) yielded comparable findings concerning the frequency of factor elevation, permitting reliance on the former, easier-to-use method to define elevation. The most salient two-factor co-elevations were the 3-7 (Disinhibition-Familial Alienation), 2-8 (Immaturity-Psychoticism), 1-5 (General Maladjustment-Health Concerns), and 2-7 (Immaturity-Familial Alienation) patterns. This study also examined whether factor pattern elevations varied as a function of age, gender, or diagnosis. Data analyses revealed no differences between younger (ages 13-14) and older (ages 15-18) adolescents on factor elevation as defined by the first criterion. However, significant differences were found between boys and girls on Factors 3 (Disinhibition) and 5 (Health Concerns). Results also indicated that a larger proportion of depressed adolescents obtained factor elevations on Factors 4 (Social Discomfort) and 5 (Health Concerns) compared to adolescents with conduct disorder diagnoses and other diagnoses. The findings of this study are discussed with reference to recommended procedures for using the Structural Summary in clinical assessment practice.
ABSTRACT The MMPI-A normative sample (805 males, 815 females) and an adolescent clinical sample (... more ABSTRACT The MMPI-A normative sample (805 males, 815 females) and an adolescent clinical sample (266 males, 92 females) were used to investigate the factor structure of the MMPI-A content scales. Principal factor analyses were conducted on scale-level raw score data for the set of 15 MMPI-A content scales, and item-level factor analyses were also conducted for each individual content scale. Scale-level analyses yielded a 2-factor solution for boys in the normative sample and for the combined clinical groups, and a 1-factor solution for the combined normative sample and for gifts in the normative group. The 2 factors were labeled General Maladjustment and Externalizing Tendencies. Further, item-level analyses produced 1-factor solutions for the majority of the MMPI-A content scales. These findings were compared with the results of other MMPI-A studies, including Sherwood, Ben-Porath, and Williams's (1997) recently developed MMPI-A Content Component scales. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of approaches to interpreting the MMPI-A content scales.
Many clinicians have come to rely on the broad array of validity scales available on the MMPI and... more Many clinicians have come to rely on the broad array of validity scales available on the MMPI and the MMPI-2. In this study, we evaluated the utility of 2 MMPI-2 validity scales, the K scale and VRIN scale, in a sample of 692 psychiatric inpatients. Specifically, the effects of the K-correction procedure and the exclusion of protocols based on VRIN scale elevations were examined on the relation between MMPI-2 basic clinical scales and external criteria including both self-report and clinician ratings of psychopathology. Results indicated that the K-correction procedure commonly used with the MMPI and MMPI-2 did not result in higher correlations with external criteria in comparison to non-K-corrected scores. In contrast, MMPI-2 protocols that produced VRIN T-score values > or = 80 generally produced lower correlations with patients self-reports and clinician ratings of psychopathology in comparison to protocols judged to be valid based on VRIN scale results.
This study examined the agreement or congruence rate between clinical-discharge diagnoses rendere... more This study examined the agreement or congruence rate between clinical-discharge diagnoses rendered by a psychiatrist, and admission and discharge MMPI-derived diagnoses from four diagnostic classification systems that have been developed for the MMPI. The four classification systems included a simple high-point code based on the most elevated clinical scale in the profile, the Henrichs revision of the Meehl-Dahlstrom rules, the Goldberg equations, and a system developed by Lachar. Subjects consisted of 150 patients selected from a larger pool of patients who had completed a 9-week adult residential treatment program. Overall, this study yielded modest hit rates between 26% and 34% for MMPI-derived diagnoses and psychiatric diagnoses across the various classification systems. In addition, stability of MMPI-based diagnoses from admission to discharge assessments ranged from 48% to 51% depending on the classification system employed. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of the MMPI in patient diagnosis. It is recommended that the MMPI be used in conjunction with other sources of clinical and test information in deriving clinical diagnoses.
Reviews findings on the relationships between locus of control and anxiety and examines these rel... more Reviews findings on the relationships between locus of control and anxiety and examines these relationships for three types of anxiety measures; general trait anxiety, situation specific trait anxiety, and state anxiety. In general, findings support the existence of meaningful relationships between greater externality and higher levels of both general trait anxiety and test anxiety. It was suggested that the relation between locus of control and state anxiety is a function of the situational context in which state anxiety is measured.
The articles in this issue by Nichols (2006/this issue) and Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, and Jordan ... more The articles in this issue by Nichols (2006/this issue) and Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, and Jordan (2006/this issue) provide evaluations and critiques of the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales developed by Tellegen et al. (2003) to reduce the high intercorrelations typically found among MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) Basic scales and to correspondingly improve the discriminate validity of these scales. This manuscript provides another perspective that acknowledges that it would be premature to discontinue the use of the standard MMPI-2 basic scales until more research has been accumulated on the RC Scales. However, it is also proposed that the RC Scales are an innovative and important contribution that holds substantial potential for addressing a number of significant limitations in the MMPI-2 and thereby improving the assessment of psychopathology with this instrument.
The adolescent form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-A) Structural Summar... more The adolescent form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-A) Structural Summary was developed from the results of a scale-level factor analysis conducted by Archer, Belevich, and Elkins based on the MMPI-A normative sample. The present study examined the scale-level factor structure of the MMPI-A in a clinical sample of 358 adolescents receiving outpatient or inpatient psychiatric services. A Principal Factor Analysis was performed using the raw score intercorrelation matrix from the 69 scales and subscales of the MMPI-A. The procedure yielded nine factors that accounted for 75.6% of the total variance in scale and subscale raw scores. Results from this clinical sample indicated that seven of the eight dimensions that appear on the MMPI-A Structural Summary were replicated in terms of producing highly similar factor structure correlation coefficients with those reported by Archer, Belevich, et al. for a normal sample. The present findings support the use of the MM...
Child custody evaluations are among the most difficult of forensic evaluations. The current paper... more Child custody evaluations are among the most difficult of forensic evaluations. The current paper examines differences between custody evaluations and other types of psychological and forensic evaluations. We also discuss important ethical issues regarding these evaluations and review the typical components of a custody evaluation, with particular attention on psychological testing as a component of custody evaluations. We then discuss the role of research in informing the interpretation of the evaluation data and provide a complete sample custody evaluation report to illustrate several points from the manuscript.
Compared with opiate addicts, alcoholics scored higher on the Hs (hypochondriasis), D (depression... more Compared with opiate addicts, alcoholics scored higher on the Hs (hypochondriasis), D (depression), Hy (hysteria). A (anxiety) and MacAndrew Scales of the MMPI and lower on the K (defensiveness). Ma (activity) and Es (ego strength) scales, but age was the most powerful discriminator between the two groups.
This study examined the combined responses of husbands and wives within 785 Navy families on five... more This study examined the combined responses of husbands and wives within 785 Navy families on five subscales from the Moos and Moos (1981) Family Environment Scale (FES) and from the Life Experiences Scale (LES), a measure of life stress developed by Sarason, ...
This study examines the ability of five self-report assessment measures to predict college studen... more This study examines the ability of five self-report assessment measures to predict college students' drug use across 12 pharmacological drug categories. Subjects were 125 female and 61 male university undergraduate students. The test battery included the following instruments: the Psychopathic Deviancy (Pd) scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI); the MacAndrew Alcoholism scale (MAC), a special scale of the MMPI; the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS); the Millon Alcohol Abuse Scale; and the Millon Drug Abuse Scale. Scores from these instruments were utilized in linear combinations to predict individual drug use outcomes as well as polydrug versus single drug use patterns. The drug categories included in this investigation are coffee, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, tranquilizers, depressants, amphetamines, LSD, other hallucinogens, solvents, narcotics, and cocaine. Results demonstrate significant and meaningful relationships between predictors and drug use levels among college students. Weighted equations derived from linear discriminant function analyses were generally capable of accurately classifying subject's drug use levels across drug categories and in discriminating single drug use from polydrug use patterns. Typically, the Sensation Seeking Scale entered as the most powerful predictor of substance use and abuse.
Although substantial research literature on the effects of random responding on the MMPI-2 exists... more Although substantial research literature on the effects of random responding on the MMPI-2 exists, there is very limited data available on this issue with the MMPI-A. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of selected MMPI-A validity scales in detecting differences in response patterns between protocols produced by 354 adolescents assessed in clinical settings and a group of 354 randomly produced MMPI-A protocols. Results indicate that MMPI-A validity and basic clinical scales differ significantly between random and clinical groups and that MMPI-A validity Scales F, F1, F2, and VRIN appear to be most useful in correctly identifying protocols from actual clinical participants versus randomly generated response patterns. Findings are discussed in terms of the dramatic effects of the sample base rate for random responding on overall classification accuracy results. Furthermore, it was noted that the optimal cutting scores for MMPI-A Scales F, F1, F2, and VRIN were largely consistent with interpretive recommendations found in the test manual (Butcher et al., 1992) when the relative frequency of random response protocols to clinical protocols was evaluated at a ratio of 1:10. Finally, future recommendations for evaluation of the F1-F2 difference score and the TRIN scale are offered in terms of the most relevant research designs to evaluate these measures.
We undertook this study to provide empirically derived interpretative recommendations for the MMP... more We undertook this study to provide empirically derived interpretative recommendations for the MMPI-A Structural Summary through an evaluation of factor elevation patterns. We examined the frequency of single-factor, two-factor, and multifactor elevations in a clinical sample of 363 adolescents receiving inpatient, outpatient, or residential treatment. Two methods of determining factor elevation (a simple majority of scales and subscales within a specific factor with T-score elevations at critical level, versus the mean T score generated by all the scales and subscales for each factor) yielded comparable findings concerning the frequency of factor elevation, permitting reliance on the former, easier-to-use method to define elevation. The most salient two-factor co-elevations were the 3-7 (Disinhibition-Familial Alienation), 2-8 (Immaturity-Psychoticism), 1-5 (General Maladjustment-Health Concerns), and 2-7 (Immaturity-Familial Alienation) patterns. This study also examined whether factor pattern elevations varied as a function of age, gender, or diagnosis. Data analyses revealed no differences between younger (ages 13-14) and older (ages 15-18) adolescents on factor elevation as defined by the first criterion. However, significant differences were found between boys and girls on Factors 3 (Disinhibition) and 5 (Health Concerns). Results also indicated that a larger proportion of depressed adolescents obtained factor elevations on Factors 4 (Social Discomfort) and 5 (Health Concerns) compared to adolescents with conduct disorder diagnoses and other diagnoses. The findings of this study are discussed with reference to recommended procedures for using the Structural Summary in clinical assessment practice.
ABSTRACT The MMPI-A normative sample (805 males, 815 females) and an adolescent clinical sample (... more ABSTRACT The MMPI-A normative sample (805 males, 815 females) and an adolescent clinical sample (266 males, 92 females) were used to investigate the factor structure of the MMPI-A content scales. Principal factor analyses were conducted on scale-level raw score data for the set of 15 MMPI-A content scales, and item-level factor analyses were also conducted for each individual content scale. Scale-level analyses yielded a 2-factor solution for boys in the normative sample and for the combined clinical groups, and a 1-factor solution for the combined normative sample and for gifts in the normative group. The 2 factors were labeled General Maladjustment and Externalizing Tendencies. Further, item-level analyses produced 1-factor solutions for the majority of the MMPI-A content scales. These findings were compared with the results of other MMPI-A studies, including Sherwood, Ben-Porath, and Williams's (1997) recently developed MMPI-A Content Component scales. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of approaches to interpreting the MMPI-A content scales.
Many clinicians have come to rely on the broad array of validity scales available on the MMPI and... more Many clinicians have come to rely on the broad array of validity scales available on the MMPI and the MMPI-2. In this study, we evaluated the utility of 2 MMPI-2 validity scales, the K scale and VRIN scale, in a sample of 692 psychiatric inpatients. Specifically, the effects of the K-correction procedure and the exclusion of protocols based on VRIN scale elevations were examined on the relation between MMPI-2 basic clinical scales and external criteria including both self-report and clinician ratings of psychopathology. Results indicated that the K-correction procedure commonly used with the MMPI and MMPI-2 did not result in higher correlations with external criteria in comparison to non-K-corrected scores. In contrast, MMPI-2 protocols that produced VRIN T-score values > or = 80 generally produced lower correlations with patients self-reports and clinician ratings of psychopathology in comparison to protocols judged to be valid based on VRIN scale results.
This study examined the agreement or congruence rate between clinical-discharge diagnoses rendere... more This study examined the agreement or congruence rate between clinical-discharge diagnoses rendered by a psychiatrist, and admission and discharge MMPI-derived diagnoses from four diagnostic classification systems that have been developed for the MMPI. The four classification systems included a simple high-point code based on the most elevated clinical scale in the profile, the Henrichs revision of the Meehl-Dahlstrom rules, the Goldberg equations, and a system developed by Lachar. Subjects consisted of 150 patients selected from a larger pool of patients who had completed a 9-week adult residential treatment program. Overall, this study yielded modest hit rates between 26% and 34% for MMPI-derived diagnoses and psychiatric diagnoses across the various classification systems. In addition, stability of MMPI-based diagnoses from admission to discharge assessments ranged from 48% to 51% depending on the classification system employed. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of the MMPI in patient diagnosis. It is recommended that the MMPI be used in conjunction with other sources of clinical and test information in deriving clinical diagnoses.
Reviews findings on the relationships between locus of control and anxiety and examines these rel... more Reviews findings on the relationships between locus of control and anxiety and examines these relationships for three types of anxiety measures; general trait anxiety, situation specific trait anxiety, and state anxiety. In general, findings support the existence of meaningful relationships between greater externality and higher levels of both general trait anxiety and test anxiety. It was suggested that the relation between locus of control and state anxiety is a function of the situational context in which state anxiety is measured.
The articles in this issue by Nichols (2006/this issue) and Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, and Jordan ... more The articles in this issue by Nichols (2006/this issue) and Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, and Jordan (2006/this issue) provide evaluations and critiques of the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales developed by Tellegen et al. (2003) to reduce the high intercorrelations typically found among MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) Basic scales and to correspondingly improve the discriminate validity of these scales. This manuscript provides another perspective that acknowledges that it would be premature to discontinue the use of the standard MMPI-2 basic scales until more research has been accumulated on the RC Scales. However, it is also proposed that the RC Scales are an innovative and important contribution that holds substantial potential for addressing a number of significant limitations in the MMPI-2 and thereby improving the assessment of psychopathology with this instrument.
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