Concurrent validity of the College Adjustment scales using comparison with the MMPI College Maladjustment Scale.

The concurrent validity of the College Adjustment Scales was assessed using comparison to the College Maladjustment Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-2. Undergraduate students (N=56, 40 women, M age = 21.3 yr., 87.5% white, non-Hispanic) completed both tests. Analysis indicated scores on 8 of 9 College Adjustment Scales correlated significantly in the predicted direction with those on the College Maladjustment Scale, thereby providing some additional support for convergent validity. While the conclusions are limited significantly by the small sample, this report provides an incremental contribution to the validity of the College Adjustment Scales.

MMPI-2 profiles of Colombian, Mexican, and Venezuelan university students.

Performance of 82 Colombian, 87 Mexican, and 96 Venezuelan university students and adult community dwellers on Spanish translations of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) were compared. Findings suggest more comprehensive research is required on applications of the MMPI-2 in Latin America and greater consideration of the roles of culture and nationality.

MMPI-2 scores of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and U.S. Latino college students: a research note.

In this brief report, we present MMPI-2 basic validity and clinical scale data of Latino-descent persons from Puerto Rico (n = 290), Mexico (n = 1,920), and the United States (n = 28). All were administered one of three Spanish translations of the MMPI-2. A review of the mean scores of these respective groups indicates similarities across all scales. Differences among these three groups, with the exception of the Mf scale (which is keyed to sex), were well within the one standard deviation band. More importantly, these findings are promising given the fact that three different translations of the MMPI-2 were applied.

MMPI-A performance of African and Mexican American adolescent first-time offenders.

54 African and Mexican American adolescent first-time offenders were examined with the MMPI-A to evaluate ethnic differences. Multivariate analyses by ethnicity and MMPI-A scales (validity, clinical, content, and supplementary scales) were not significant; however, there was a significant univariate difference where African American adolescents scored significantly higher on the Repression scale than the Mexican American group. A greater percentage of within-normal-limits profiles were African American (50%) than Mexican American (25%). Research and clinical implications for using the MMPI-A with these groups are discussed.

MMPI-2 with Mexican psychiatric inpatients: basic and content scales.

This paper presents the results of a study of the Mexican Spanish version of the MMPI-2 with a clinical sample of 233 patients who were diagnosed as having psychological disturbances or personality disorders, according to DSM-III R criteria. Inpatient scores were obtained from four psychiatric hospitals, located in Mexico City. The scores of the patients were compared with those of Mexican college students, which is the largest Mexican normative sample collected to date, consisting of 813 men and 1,137 women. Results of this study show that the MMPI-2 can accurately differentiate between normal and non-normal groups in Mexican populations and demonstrate that the inventory maintains its construct validity in this clinical sample.

Perfil de personalidad al MMPI en anorexia nerviosa y bulimia nerviosa / Personality profile MMPI in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

El objetivo del presente estudio se relaciona con la controversia respecto de la existencia de un perfil de personalidad típico en los pacientes con Anorexia Nerviosa y Bulimia Nerviosa y si existe un perfil diferencial entre ambos grupos. Se utilizó el MMPI (inventario Multifásico de Personalidad de Minnesota), para determinar las características de personalidad. La muestra estaba constituída por 60 pacientes mujeres, 30 anorécticas y 30 bulímicas, con un rango de edad entre 16 y 37 años, diagnosticados de acuerdo a los criterios del DSM IV.Las pacientes con Anorexia Nerviosa obtuvieron un aumento en las escalas de Depresión, Desviación Psicótica, Paranoia y Esquizofrenia. Las pacientes con Bulimia Nerviosa obtuvieron puntajes sobre el promedio en las escalas de Hipocondriasis, Depresión, Histería, Desviación Psicopática, Paranoia, Psicastenia y Esquizofrenia. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron realizar un perfil de personalidad diferencial para cada grupo

MMPI performance of central American refugees and Mexican immigrants.

This study compared the MMPI scores of Central American refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador to those of Mexican immigrants. It was expected that subjects from Guatemala and El Salvador would obtain higher scores on the F, D, Pa, and Sc scales because these subjects came from "war-torn" countries. A multivariate analysis of variance yielded no significant differences between the three groups on any of the validity and clinical scales including F, D, Pa, and Sc. Recommendations for cross-national research are noted especially in light of the new version, or MMPI-2.

Correlation between skin potential response and psychopathology in patients with affective disorders.

The correlation between the degree of psychopathology (assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, MMPI) and sympathetic function (assessed by the skin potential response to somatosensory stimuli) was evaluated in 209 patients with affective disorders. A number of skin potential parameters (skin potential levels, negative fluctuations of first derivative of skin potential, negative areas in phase plane analysis, differences between last and initial average potentials and between the last average potential for the preceding stimulus and initial average potentials for a given stimulus) were correlated with the psychopathology index, calculated as the average of clinically relevant MMPI scales. Categorical classification of patients having or not having abnormally high psychopathology index scores also supported the differences in skin potential response between both groups of patients. The results further indicate the existence of a correlation between severity of mood disorders and increased sympathetic reactivity.

[Consideration to eliminate K as a factor of correction in the Mini-Mult 82]. / Consideraciones para eliminar K como factor de corrección en el MINI-MULT 82.

In this study, a discussion and procedure to eliminate K as a factor of correction in the MINI-MULT 82, is presented. This test was developed in Costa Rica and based on Kincannon's Mini-Mult, a short form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). However, the test has been independent from the MMPI, and it is not used as s predictor form. In consequence, the influence of factor K has been considered, either as a suppressor variable or as a contributor to improve the validity of the test. Two samples, one of non patients and other of psychiatric patients were compared using Student's t-test. To do that, the test was scored first, without the K factor and finally, using that one. The results showed statistical differences between the samples (p < 0.001) and they were stronger when the K factor was not used. This findings support the elimination of K as a factor of correction in the MINI-MULT 82. Implications and guidelines about future research, are discussed at the end.

The influence of acculturation and racial identity attitudes on Mexican-Americans' MMPI-2 performance.

Examination of the relationships among acculturation, racial identity, and the newly revised MMPI is warranted. This study investigated the degree to which racial identity influences Mexican-Americans' performance on the L, K, and MF scales of the MMPI-2. Also investigated were individual differences in performance on the L, K, and MF scales as a function of acculturation. Fifty-one Mexican-American undergraduates from Washington State University participated by completing an acculturation scale, a racial identity attitude scale, and the MMPI-2. Results indicated that performance on the L and K scales is influenced by racial identity attitudes and levels of acculturation, however, no evidence was found to suggest a relationship between cultural variables and performance on the MF scale.

Neuropsychological function in borderline personality disorder.

To evaluate the possibility of an underlying dimension of organicity in borderline personality disorder (BPD), a carefully diagnosed group of borderline patients was assessed across a wide range of neuropsychological functions and then was compared to an age- and education-matched non-patient control group. The BPD group had significantly lower Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores on the WAIS-R. The BPD group also was impaired significantly on motor skills, figural memory, complex visuomotor integration, social or interpersonal intelligence, and on a measure of susceptibility to interference. This pattern of deficits localized to the fronto-temporal regions and became more pronounced when a subgroup analysis was performed. This study suggests that subtle organic factors may be operative in some, but not all, BPD patients.

MMPI differences among Mexican-American male and female psychiatric inpatients.

The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent Mexican-American male and female psychiatric patients, who share similar DSM-III--R diagnoses, differ on the MMPI. Differences were found on the Infrequency, Masculinity-Femininity, and Paranoia scales, with the 39 men obtaining significantly higher scores than the 21 women. These results, while suggesting possible differences in the phenomenology of depression, also suggest that MMPI differences between Mexican-American men and women may be reflective of culturally-defined sex roles. These results, when taken within the context of Mexican-American MMPI literature, indicate that researchers should always attempt to account for "gender" when conducting cross-ethnic MMPI comparisons. The practice of grouping the MMPIs of Mexican-American men and women for comparison with other ethnic groups should be discontinued in favor of comparisons that consider the effects of gender and ethnicity.