Clinical Subscales Research Articles

MMPI Scale 9 Changes in Incarcerated Felons

This article focuses on the scores of incarcerated male felons on the MMPI clinical subscales 4 and 9 because they are the most frequently elevated for this type of population. Over time, while scores on Scale 4 remained consistent, those on Scale 9 declined significantly. That inmates might become depressed, as a result of the foibles of incarceration, is discussed.

Assessing Medical and Dental Students’ Knowledge of Preventive Medicine

This cross-sectional study examined medical and dental students' knowledge of preventive medicine. The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge of preventive medicine--both epidemiological and clinical--that students demonstrate as they enter medical and dental school and acquire during training. The results of a two-group (medical versus dental school) by three-time (first-, second-, and third-year level) analysis of variance of students' mean examination scores showed significant main effects for school (F = 28.3, P less than .001) and training level (F = 24.5, P less than .001), and a significant school-by-training level interaction (F = 13.9, P less than .001). Medical students at higher training levels demonstrated greater knowledge of preventive medicine. In contrast, there were no significant differences by year of training among the dental students on the total test or on the epidemiological or clinical subscales. Both the dental and medical students demonstrated greater knowledge of clinical applications than of epidemiological foundations (t = 4.21, P less than .01). Dental students performed better than medical students on items that focused on diseases and risk factors that manifest symptoms more likely to be observed in dentistry than in general medical practice. The findings underscore the need to demonstrate practice relevance when teaching preventive medicine.

Retest Reliability of the Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

This article reports on two studies which examined the temporal stability of the personality disorder subscales from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI). The scales demonstrated adequate stability in psychiatric inpatients (retested with an average of just over 1 year between testings). Furthermore, a separate sample of depressed inpatients assessed when depressed and 6 weeks later showed that the stability of MCMI personality scales was observed even after patients displayed an initial reduction in depression severity. Although stability is vital to the accurate assessment of personality disorders, both studies also found high retest correlations for the MCMI clinical syndrome subscales. In general, these results suggest that patients displayed similar symptom patterns over time, whether construed as personality traits or characteristic patterns of responding when symptomatic.

Psychometric properties of the Danish MCMI‐I translation

A translation of the MCMI-I has been in use in Denmark for some years. An untested assumption in the interpretation of the pattern of test results is that the psychometric characteristics of the Danish and American versions are similar. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the questionnaire by using traditional psychometric analysis techniques on the results of a sample consisting of 423 patients and 179 normal controls. Coefficient alpha was calculated for the 20 clinical subscales of the test and the Danish results were strikingly similar to the original coefficients reported by Millon. Furthermore, factor analysis of the subscales showed a factor structure very similar to American findings, and it is concluded that the psychometric properties of the Danish MCMI are not significantly different from the original.

Psychological and physiological characteristics of patients with severe idiopathic constipation

This study prospectively evaluated psychological profiles and selected parameters of colonic and anorectal sensorimotor function in 25 consecutive patients who were referred for severe idiopathic constipation. Measurement of colonic transit of radiopaque markers divided patients into those with normal transit (n = 10) and those with slow transit (n = 15). As measured by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist, patients with normal transit constipation demonstrated significantly higher scores for psychological distress in the global symptoms index and nine clinical subscales than did those with slow transit constipation and gastrointestinal control subjects (n = 25). Both groups with constipation had decreased rectal sensation compared with controls but there was no relationship to rectal compliance or threshold of internal sphincter relaxation. There was also no relation between abnormalities of anorectal parameters, including expulsion dynamics, and psychological profiles in the two groups. Measurement of colonic transit and psychological profiles in patients with severe idiopathic constipation identify two groups of patients with respect to possible pathogenesis of symptoms. Accordingly, different therapeutic approaches may be required, one behaviorally and psychologically based and the other focused on the possible modification of disordered colonic transit.

Aggressive response sets and subtle-obvious MMPI scale distinctions in male offenders.

The effects of aggressive and nonaggressive response sets on the MMPI subtle and obvious clinical subscales were investigated. Fifty-eight male prison inmates answered the MMPI as if they were either highly aggressive or highly nonaggressive. The clinical scales with sufficient items in each category were scored for subtle, neutral, and obvious subscales. Inmates successfully feigned aggressiveness on several of the obvious subscales (p = .0056) and one neutral scale; the subtle subscales were not significantly different across groups, consistent with previous research on this population in terms of the resistance of subtle items to these response sets.

Psychological adjustment and neuropsychological performance in diabetic patients.

The Faschingbauer Abbreviated MMPI (FAM) was utilized to compare diabetic (N = 39) with non-diabetic chronic illness patients (N = 20) and healthy controls (N = 24). The healthy controls were significantly different from the diabetic and chronic illnesses groups, but the latter two groups were not significantly differentiated. Similarly, in comparison with the healthy groups, both the chronic illnesses group and the diabetic group had significant elevations on the first three clinical subscales of the FAM: Hypochondriasis, Depression, and Hysteria. On the basis of the FAM results, the diabetic patients were divided into a "well" adjusted and a "poorly" adjusted group, and comparisons were made on a variety of neuropsychological measures, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Wechsler Memory Scale, and Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery. Results demonstrated negligible effect of poor adjustment on neuropsychological performance.

Is running an analogue of anorexia nervosa? An empirical study of obligatory running and anorexia nervosa

A recent report suggested that compulsive runners share a common set of psychological traits and behavioral dispositions with patients with anorexia nervosa. In an effort to objectively assess the similarity between anorexia nervosa and obligatory running, 43 runners and 24 patients with anorexia nervosa completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results indicated that the obligatory runners generally scored within the normal range, while the anorectic patients did not. The anorectic patients obtained more pathological scores than the runners on eight of the ten clinical subscales of the MMPI. Fifty percent of the anorectic patients obtained elevations on three or more of the MMPI subscales, while no runners obtained more than two scale elevations. Depression (scale 2) and psychopathy (scale 4) were particularly prevalent in the anorectic group. We conclude that obligatory runners do not suffer from the same degree of psychopathology as do patients with anorexia nervosa. (<i>JAMA</i>1984;252:520-523)

Is Running an Analogue of Anorexia Nervosa?

A recent report suggested that compulsive runners share a common set of psychological traits and behavioral dispositions with patients with anorexia nervosa. In an effort to objectively assess the similarity between anorexia nervosa and obligatory running, 43 runners and 24 patients with anorexia nervosa completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results indicated that the obligatory runners generally scored within the normal range, while the anorectic patients did not. The anorectic patients obtained more pathological scores than the runners on eight of the ten clinical subscales of the MMPI. Fifty percent of the anorectic patients obtained elevations on three or more of the MMPI subscales, while no runners obtained more than two scale elevations. Depression (scale 2) and psychopathy (scale 4) were particularly prevalent in the anorectic group. We conclude that obligatory runners do not suffer from the same degree of psychopathology as do patients with anorexia nervosa.

Corrections For Spurious Influences On Correlations Between Mmpi Scales.

Correlations between measures containing common elements have a spurious component due to the overlapping elements. For example, personality scales such as the MMPI and the CPI have subscales with overlapping items, so correlations between these subscales are spuriously influenced by this overlap. Methods for statistical and experimental adjustment of these spuriously influenced correlations are reviewed and compared, but are rejected in favor of Bashaw and Anderson's (1967) reliability solution. To illustrate the proposed correction and to show the potential magnitude of this spurious influence, the original "Minnesota normals" data on nine clinical subscales of the MMPI were analyzed. A comparison of the unadjusted and adjusted values showed that 32 of the 36 correlations were changed, six of them were radically changed, and in two cases the sign of the correlation was reversed. A principal components analysis was used to investigate changes in the correlation structure.