Detection of Psychological Dysfunction and Suicide Risk Among Postpartum Women.

Prevalence rates of perinatal mood disorders range from 5 to 25%. Furthermore, suicide is a leading cause of death in postpartum women. Various factors have been associated with an increased risk of suicide in postpartum women, including co-occurring mental health disorders, lack of mental health care, and substance use. It is important for mental health screening and psychological assessment used within OB-GYN clinics to be current with regard to postpartum mood dysfunction and suicide risk assessment. We collected data from a sample of 78 postpartum women (0-6-month post-delivery), focusing specifically on patterns of emotional/internalizing dysfunction, using three different screening measures as predictors. Contrary to hypotheses, our sample did not produce significant elevations on target criterion scales of the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory-3 (MMPI-3). Although the multidimensional behavioral health screen (MBHS) was better at differentially capturing MMPI-3 elevations when compared to the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EDPS) and patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), two of the three comparisons were not statistically significant. Statistical analyses were challenged by our extremely low base rate for elevated suicide risk. Despite this, the MBHS performed better than the EPDS and PHQ-9 at accurately capturing elevated suicide risk.

Revisiting Rorschach test and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II patterns in Kraepelinian vs. DSM-wise Schizophrenia: How They Differ and What It Means for Diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective chart review study aimed to investigate the differences in the Rorschach test and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-II profiles among patients with Kraepelinian schizophrenia, those with DSM-wise schizophrenia, and controls. Kraepelinian schizophrenia is characterised by a chronic, deteriorative disease course and a predominance of negative symptoms. METHODS: Patients with Kraepelinian schizophrenia were selected based on medical record reviews. We then compared their Rorschach test and MMPI-II results with those of the DSM-wise schizophrenia group and the control group. RESULTS: The Rorschach test revealed a significant increase in DV2 score and a decrease in D score in patients with Kraepelinian schizophrenia compared to those with DSM-wise schizophrenia. In the MMPI-II profiles, patients with Kraepelinian schizophrenia exhibited an elevated L relative to those with DSM-wise schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested the value of revisiting psychological tests in clinically delineated subgroups, such as Kraepelinian schizophrenia. Although patients fall under the same diagnostic category of schizophrenia, considering different phenotypes is important when interpreting psychological test outcomes. Additionally, our study indicated that both schizophrenia groups did not show as many abnormalities as expected compared to controls. This highlights the potential value of revisiting established profiles of certain psychological tests and calls for further research on other psychological tests.

Assessment of psychological personality traits in transgender groups using the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory.

Objective: To explore the psychological personality characteristics of transgender groups and to determine whether these characteristics differ according to sociodemographic factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2021 and April 2023 at a psychosexual outpatient clinic in a psychiatric hospital in Beijing, China. In total, 481 individuals were included in this study, and demographic information was collected using a self-administered general questionnaire. Psychological personality traits were assessed using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Results: The mean scores of the assigned male at birth (AMAB) group were significantly higher than those of the male controls for all 10 clinical factors of the MMPI (p < 0.01 or p < 0.001). The scores for both the Masculinity-femininity (Mf) and Depression (D) factors in the AMABs group exceeded the clinical threshold (T > 60) and were the highest and second-highest scores on the entire scale, respectively. Individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB) had significantly higher scores than female controls for Hysteria (Hy), Psychopathic Deviate (Pd), and Hypomania (Ma) (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively). There were significant differences in the rates of abnormal values for the various factors of the MMPI (T > 60) according to gender, age, and education (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively). Compared to AFABs, AMABs had higher rates of abnormal scores (T > 60) on the Hypochondriasis (Hs), D, Hy, Mf, Paranoia (Pa), Psychasthenia (Pt), Schizophrenia (Sc), and Social Introversion (Si) scales (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively). Second, the transgender group aged ≤25 years had higher rates of abnormal scores (T > 60) on the Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma scales (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively). Finally, outliers (T > 60) for the Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Ma, and Si factors were more prevalent among those with a primary to high school level of education (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: Assigned male at births may have a variety of psychological vulnerabilities, and there is a need to focus especially on those with a primary to high school level of education, those aged ≤25 years, and transgender females.

Novel Psychoactive Substance Use and Psychological Trauma: A Multimethodological Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Authors discuss the connections between novel psychoactive substance (NPS) use and psychological trauma. The transition from classical substances to NPS, a paradigm change, poses a challenge for the treatment systems. Objective: Research evidence suggests difficulties in emotion regulation and trauma-related NPS-use. Authors explore some demographic and psychopathological characteristics related to such findings and examine the connections between emotion regulation deficiency and the choice of substance. METHOD: This study uses a methodological triangulation of a biologically identified sample to confirm NPS use, a survey method to describe users' socioeconomic characteristics, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) subscales to study dysfunctions in emotion regulation. RESULTS: Participants (77 patients) were mainly polydrug users. The transgenerational transfer of substance use was a salient feature, but material deprivation was not characteristic of the entire sample. NPS use was not connected to certain psychopathological characteristics the way classical substance use was. More than half of the respondents had elevated scores on MMPI-2 Demoralization (RCd) and Dysfunctional Negative Emotions (RC7) scales. Nearly half of them also scored high on Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality (NEGE). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that NPS use in the context of polydrug use is connected to psychological trauma and emotion regulation deficiency, but the MMPI-2 scales to assess emotional dysfunctions are not connected to a particular type of NPS.

Exploring Potential Ethnic Bias Among MMPI-3 Scales in Assessing Personality Psychopathology.

This study examined statistical bias in the measurement of personality psychopathology in the Latinx population using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3). Data were extracted from two studies that yielded a composite data set of 103 White individuals and 250 Latinx individuals. All participants were administered the MMPI-2-Restructured Form-Extended Battery (MMPI-2-RF-EX) or MMPI-3 and the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 Short Form (PID-5-SF). First, we conducted correlation analyses between theoretically overlapping scales of the PID-5-SF and the MMPI-3 among White and Latinx individuals. The majority of theoretically associated scales were found to be at least moderately associated in the total sample. In addition, Steiger's z-tests indicated that correlations were similar in magnitude across the White and Latinx ethnic groups. Hierarchical regression subsequently determined the presence of slope and/or intercept bias. Only one analysis (the MMPI-3 Anger Proneness prediction of PID-5-SF Negative Affectivity) indicated statistically significant intercept bias. No evidence of slope bias was found. In other words, these analyses indicated that the vast majority of the relationships between MMPI-3 scales and associated personality psychopathology constructs (as measured by the PID-5-SF) remained consistent across both ethnic groups. Overall, the results supported the appropriate cross-cultural use of the MMPI-3 to assess personality psychopathology.

Development and initial validation of the Scale of Scales (SOS) overreporting scores for the MMPI family of instruments.

Overreporting is a common problem that complicates psychological evaluations. A challenge facing the effective detection of overreporting is that many of the identified strategies (e.g., symptom severity approaches; see Rogers & Bender, 2020) are not incorporated into broadband measures of personality and psychopathology (e.g., Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory family of instruments). While recent efforts have worked to incorporate some of these newer strategies, no such work has been conducted on the MMPI-3. For instance, recent symptom severity approaches have been used to identify patterns of multivariate base rate "skyline" elevations on the BASC, and similar strategies have been adopted into the PAI to measure psychopathology (Multi-Feigning Index; Gaines et al., 2013) and cognitive symptoms (Cognitive Bias Scale of Scales; Boress et al., 2022b). This study used data from a simulation study (n = 318) and an Active-Duty (AD) clinical sample (n = 290) to develop and cross-validate such a scale on the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-3. Results suggest that the MMPI SOS (Scale of Scales) scores perform equitably to existing measures of overreporting on the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-3 and incrementally predict a PVT-classified "known-group" of Active Duty service members. Effects were generally large in magnitude. Classification accuracy achieved desired specificity (.90) and approximated expected sensitivity (.30). Implications of these findings are discussed, which emphasize how alternative overreporting detection strategies may be useful to consider for the MMPI. These alternative strategies have room for expansion and refinement.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Self-Report Assessment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent guidelines have had a substantial effect on social norms. This likely affected self-report assessment of psychopathology, namely those that assess obsessive-compulsive tendencies routinely used to screen for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It was hypothesized that self-report assessment of OCD likely produces inflated, non-discriminating scale scores. Methods Data collection occurred prior to the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of validating a new psychological test; however, data collection was abruptly halted in March 2020. Data collection was allowed to resume in the latter half of the year. Both groups were racio-ethnically and gender diverse. Results Self-report measures of OCD yielded inflated scores. For instance, the total obsessive-compulsive inventory-revised (OCI-R) average score of all participants went from normative levels prior to COVID-19 (M = 13.69, SD = 10.32) to an average score that was above the clinical cut-off on the OCI-R (M = 32.89; SD = 12.95) during the pandemic (t(135) = 9.66, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.66). Conclusions OCD-related scale scores likely produced false positives in research and practice due to COVID-19 health guidelines put in place to protect against infection that may otherwise be considered contamination fears on OCD measures.

When insurance is not a barrier: psychological factors predicting whether bariatric candidates undergo surgery.

BACKGROUND: Despite the effectiveness of bariatric surgery, utilization rates have increased only marginally over the last 2 decades; candidates who are eligible for bariatric surgery regularly fail to undergo surgery. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) has previously been used to assist in identification of those who will not move forward with surgery after being identified as eligible. However, medical insurance has been identified as a significant barrier to surgery; research in those who have universal healthcare may yield different results. OBJECTIVES: Determine if MMPI-RF scales are associated with failure to undergo bariatric surgery in patients eligible to have the procedure. SETTING: Large military hospital in the Northwestern U.S. METHODS: This study used archival data for 279 patients psychologically screened for eligibility for bariatric surgery. All assessments took place between January 2017 and December 2019. T-tests and chi-square tests were used to compare groups of patients who did and did not have surgery on relevant medical and demographic variables. Profile analyses of patient MMPI-2-RF scores were conducted to examine scale associations with undergoing surgery. RESULTS: A total of 86 bariatric surgery candidates (30.8%) did not undergo surgery. Results showed that sex, age, employment status, and arthritis were different between groups. Additionally, MMPI-2-RF scales were different between groups, including somatic complaints, neurological complaints, cynicism, and helplessness/hopelessness. CONCLUSIONS: MMPI-2-RF scales were associated with not having bariatric surgery, although not all scales exceeded clinical cut-offs. Findings indicate psychological and psychosocial differences, rather than psychopathology per se, may play a role in who undergoes bariatric surgery.

Cross validation of the response bias scale and the response bias scale-19 in active-duty personnel: use on the MMPI-2-RF and MMPI-3.

The Response Bias Scale (RBS) is the central measure of cognitive over-reporting in the MMPI-family of instruments. Relative to other clinical populations, the research evaluating the detection of over-reporting is more limited in Veteran and Active-Duty personnel, which has produced some psychometric variability across studies. Some have suggested that the original scale construction methods resulted in items which negatively impact classification accuracy and in response crafted an abbreviated version of the RBS (RBS-19; Ratcliffe et al., 2022; Spencer et al., 2022). In addition, the most recent edition of the MMPI is based on new normative data, which impacts the ability to use existing literature to determine effective cut-scores for the RBS (despite all items having been retained across MMPI versions). To date, no published research exists for the MMPI-3 RBS. The current study examined the utility of the RBS and the RBS-19 in a sample of Active-Duty personnel (n = 186) referred for neuropsychological evaluation. Using performance validity tests as the study criterion, we found that the RBS-19 was generally equitably to RBS in classification. Correlations with other MMPI-2-RF over- and under-reporting symptom validity tests were slightly stronger for RBS-19. Implications and directions for research and practice with RBS/RBS-19 are discussed, along with implications for neuropsychological assessment and response validity theory.

Determining the MMPI-3 SUI scale's cross-sectional and prospective utility in suicide risk assessment.

OBJECTIVE: In-depth suicide risk assessments are particularly important to long-term suicide prevention. Broadband measures of psychopathology, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) instruments, assess suicide risk factors and various mental health comorbidities. With the recent release of the MMPI-3, the Suicidal/Death Ideation (SUI) scale underwent revisions to improve its construct validity and detection of suicide risk factors. Thus, we hypothesized the MMPI-3 SUI scale would demonstrate medium to large associations with suicidal experience and behaviors, future ideation, and interpersonal risk factors of suicide. METHODS: A sample of 124 college students screened for elevated depressive symptoms completed a brief longitudinal study. Participants completed a baseline session including the MMPI-3 and criterion measures and three brief follow-ups every 2 weeks. RESULTS: SUI scores were most robustly associated with increased risk for past suicidal ideation, planning, and perceived burdensomeness. Prospectively assessed suicidal ideation was also meaningfully associated with SUI. SUI scale elevations indicate an increased risk of suicide-related risk factors. CONCLUSION: The MMPI-3 is a valuable tool to inform long-term suicide prevention for those experiencing elevated depressive symptoms as the SUI scale can assess past, current, and future suicide-related risk factors, including suicidal ideation and behaviors.

Using the MMPI-2-RF, IOP-29, IOP-M, and FIT in the In-Person and Remote Administration Formats: A Simulation Study on Feigned mTBI.

Our study compared the impact of administering Symptom Validity Tests (SVTs) and Performance Validity Tests (PVTs) in in-person versus remote formats and assessed different approaches to combining validity test results. Using the MMPI-2-RF, IOP-29, IOP-M, and FIT, we assessed 164 adults, with half instructed to feign mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and half to respond honestly. Within each subgroup, half completed the tests in person, and the other half completed them online via videoconferencing. Results from 2 ×2 analyses of variance showed no significant effects of administration format on SVT and PVT scores. When comparing feigners to controls, the MMPI-2-RF RBS exhibited the largest effect size (d = 3.05) among all examined measures. Accordingly, we conducted a series of two-step hierarchical logistic regression models by entering the MMPI-2-RF RBS first, followed by each other SVT and PVT individually. We found that the IOP-29 and IOP-M were the only measures that yielded incremental validity beyond the effects of the MMPI-2-RF RBS in predicting group membership. Taken together, these findings suggest that administering these SVTs and PVTs in-person or remotely yields similar results, and the combination of MMPI and IOP indexes might be particularly effective in identifying feigned mTBI.

Organotypic 3D Ex Vivo Co-culture Model of the Macro-metastasis/Organ Parenchyma Interface.

The macro-metastasis/organ parenchyma interface (MMPI) is gaining increasing significance due to its prognostic relevance for cancer (brain) metastasis. We have developed an organotypic 3D ex vivo co-culture model that mimics the MMPI and allows us to evaluate the histopathological growth pattern (HGP) and infiltration grade of the tumor cells into the neighboring brain tissue and to study the interactions of cancer and glial cells ex vivo. This system consists of a murine brain slice and a 3D tumor plug that can be co-cultured for several days. After slicing the brain of 5- to 8-day-old mice, a Matrigel plug containing fluorescent-labelled tumor cells is placed next to it, so that tumor cells in the 3D plug and glial cells in the brain slice can interact at the interface for up to 96 h. To facilitate the positioning of the co-culture and increase the reproducibility of the model, a brain spacer can be used. The HGP and infiltration of the tumor cells into the brain slice as well as the activation of the glial cells can be assessed by live and/or confocal microscopy after immunofluorescence staining of microglia and/or astrocytes. Alternatively, the co-culture can also be used for other purposes, such as RNA analysis. This organotypic 3D ex vivo co-culture offers a perfect tool for preliminary screenings before in vivo experiments and reduces the number of animals, thus contributing to the 3R concept as a central precept in preclinical research.

Further evidence regarding the convergent and discriminant validity of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) scores in the preoperative psychological evaluation of patients seeking metabolic and bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Psychological testing is used in some preoperative psychological evaluations of patients seeking metabolic and bariatric surgery. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) contains new norms, updated item content, and new scales such as Eating Concerns and Impulsivity, which are relevant to the assessment of patients seeking metabolic and bariatric surgery. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this investigation was to establish convergent and discriminant properties of the MMPI-3 scales with relevant clinical interview and medical record data from electronic medical records. SETTING: Academic medical center in the Midwest. METHODS: A sample of 790 consecutive patients who completed a preoperative psychological evaluation and took the MMPI-3 were included. Data from medical records and the assessment report were coded by a trained research assistant. RESULTS: MMPI-3 scale scores demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. For instance, the Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction scales correlated with depression and anxiety disorder, suicide history, sexual abuse history, psychotropic medication use, and eating behaviors. Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction scales correlated with alcohol, nicotine, and substance use and eating behaviors such as loss-of-control overeating. The Eating Concerns scale demonstrated the highest correlational patterns with various eating behaviors such as loss-of-control overeating, binge eating, and stress eating. CONCLUSIONS: MMPI-3 scale scores perform as well as their Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form counterparts. Newer scales, such as Eating Concerns and Impulsivity, perform particularly well in the assessment of various eating behaviors.

Six-year postoperative associations between the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 3 (MMPI-3) and weight recurrence, eating behaviors, adherence, alcohol misuse, and quality of life.

BACKGROUND: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) leads to beneficial and sustained outcomes. However, many patients evidence weight recurrence and psychosocial functioning may be associated with weight recurrence. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 3 (MMPI-3) is validated for use in presurgical MBS evaluations and likely has clinical utility in understanding weight recurrence and other aspects of postoperative functioning. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the current investigation is to understand how postoperative psychosocial functioning relates to weight recurrence and other behaviors and constructs 6 years after MBS. SETTING: Cleveland Clinic Bariatric and Metabolic Institute. METHODS: A sample of 163 participants consented to take a battery of self-report measures related to psychological functioning, eating behaviors, adherence, alcohol misuse, and quality of life along with their postoperative weight. MMPI-3 scale scores were prorated from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 - Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) or scored from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 - Restructured Form - Expanded (MMPI-2-RF-EX). RESULTS: Weight recurrence was quite variable in this sample. Postoperative MMPI-3 scales related to emotional/internalizing dysfunction were modestly associated with higher weight recurrence. Postoperative MMPI-3 scale scores also demonstrated associations with other postoperative outcomes including measures of eating behaviors, adherence, alcohol misuse, and quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative psychosocial functioning as assessed by the MMPI-3 was associated with weight recurrence and a number of other problematic psychological outcomes beyond weight recurrence.

MMPI-2-RF Profiles of Treatment-Seeking Veterans in a VA Pain Clinic and Associations with Markers of Physical Performance.

Chronic pain is a debilitating condition for many military Veterans and is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study examined the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) in 144 Veterans (88.2% male, mean age = 57.95 years) recruited from a VA outpatient pain clinic and associations with self-reported pain severity, pain-related interference in daily activities, prescription opioid use, and objective metrics of physical performance on tasks impacted by pain (walking, stair climbing, grip strength, indexed by a single latent variable). Among the cohort with valid responses on the MMPI-2-RF (n = 117) and probable PTSD, mean Somatic Complaints (RC1) and Ideas of Persecution (RC6) scores were clinically elevated. All MMPI-2-RF scales were more strongly correlated with self-reported pain interference than severity. Regressions revealed associations between self-rated pain interference (but not pain or PTSD severity) and physical performance scores (ß = .36, p = .001). MMPI-2-RF overreporting Validity and Higher-Order scales contributed incremental variance in predicting physical performance, including Infrequent Psychopathology Responses (ß = .33, p = .002). PTSD severity was associated with prescription opioid use when accounting for the effects of over-reported somatic and cognitive symptoms (odds ratio 1.05, p ≤ .025). Results highlight the role of symptom overreporting and perceptions of functional impairment to observable behaviors among individuals with chronic pain.

Incremental Contribution of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 3 to Predicting One-Year Postoperative Spinal Cord Surgery/Spinal Cord Stimulation Outcomes.

Pre-surgical psychological assessments are becoming common in the United States and are recommended or required prior to surgical/spinal cord stimulator intervention for chronic back pain. Psychological testing is often recommended for these evaluations and the various versions of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) have demonstrated utility for predicting outcomes in this setting. This investigation sought to extend that literature with the newest version of the MMPI, the MMPI-3. The sample comprised of 909 patients (50.5% men, 49.5% women) who consented to participating in an outcome study and took the MMPI-3 along with other self-report measures of pain, functional disability, and emotional functioning prior to surgery as part of their pre-surgical psychological assessment. Self-report measures of pain, functional disability, and emotional functioning were administered again one-year following the intervention. MMPI-3 scale scores accounted for up to 9% of additional variance in the outcomes after controlling for pre-surgical measures. Measures of emotional/internalizing dysfunction, somatic dysfunction, and, to a lesser extent, behavioral/externalizing dysfunction contributed the most to the prediction of poorer outcomes.

Additional Validation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) Eating Concerns Scale.

Maladaptive eating behaviors are typically associated with significant impairment in psychological functioning more broadly. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) family of instruments has traditionally been the most frequently used psychological assessment of psychopathology by clinical psychologists. The most recent version, the MMPI-3, features a new Eating Concerns (EAT) scale that screens for the presence of problematic eating behaviors. The goals of the current study were (a) to independently replicate validity correlations reported from the college sample during EAT scale development, (b) to evaluate the utility of EAT scale item-level correlations with other substantive MMPI-3 scales, and (c) to evaluate the ability of the EAT items to predict specific frequency counts of dysfunctional eating behaviors. The current study examined the MMPI-3 assessment of dysfunctional eating behaviors among 188 undergraduate participants. Results indicated that the EAT scale is meaningfully associated with core symptom dimensions of maladaptive eating, including binging, vomiting, restricting, and concerns about weight and shape. In addition, this study identified meaningfully distinct patterns of correlations with personality and psychopathology constructs, and specific behavioral frequencies, across the five individual EAT scale items. These results contribute to the enhanced utility of this important screening scale in clinical settings.

Clinical Utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent Restructured Form in the Assessment of Internalizing and Externalizing Disorders in Adolescents: A Preliminary Approach.

Objectives: This study investigated whether the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent Restructured Form (MMPI-ARF) can differentiate between two groups of adolescents, one diagnosed with internalizing disorders and another with externalizing disorders, and examined the clinical utility of the MMPI-A-RF by examining which subscales can significantly discriminate between these two groups. Methods: A total of 105 adolescents aged 13-18 years completed the MMPI-A-RF (53 internalizing disorder and 52 externalizing disorder groups). Independent t-test, chi-square test (χ2), and discriminant analysis were used to examine whether MMPI-A-RF can distinguish between the two groups. Results: Sixteen MMPI-A-RF scales best predicted differences between the groups with internalizing and externalizing disorders. Fourteen scales (Higher-Order Scale [Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction], Restructured Clinical [RC] Scale [RC demoralization, Somatic Complaints (RC1), and Low Positive Emotions (RC2)], Personality Psychopathology Five Scale [Introversion/Low Positive Emotionality- Revised, Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism-Revised], Somatic/Cognitive Scale [Malaise, Head Pain Complaints, and Gastrointestinal Complaints], Internalizing Scale [Stress/Worry, Self-Doubt], Externalizing Scale [Negative School Attitudes], Interpersonal Scale [Social Avoidance, Shyness]) were associated with the internalizing disorder group, whereas two scales (Externalizing Scale [Conduct Problems, Negative Peer Influence]) were associated with the externalizing disorder group. Conclusion: The MMPI-A-RF can be an efficient assessment tool for a quick diagnosis as it can classify individuals with internalizing and externalizing disorders in clinical settings that lack a variety of assessment tools for children and adolescents.

Latent Classes based on Clinical Symptoms of Military Recruits with Mental Health Issues and Their Distinctive Clinical Responses to Treatment over 6 Months.

Objective: : This study aimed (1) to identify distinct subgroups of psychiatric patients referred for a mental health certificate for military service suitability and (2) to determine whether there is a difference in clinical features such as treatment responsiveness and prognosis among certain subgroups. Methods: : We conducted latent profile analysis (LPA) using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) clinical profiles of the participants. Linear mixed model analysis was performed to examine changes in the severity of clinical symptoms and functional level according to the treatment period of the latent classes derived from the LPA. Results: : The results indicated that the best-fitting model was a three-class model, comprising Class 1 (mild maladjustment), Class 2 (neurotic depression and anxiety), and Class 3 (highly vulnerable and hypervigilant). We demonstrated that the three subgroups displayed different characteristics in treatment responsiveness and clinical course based on their Clinical Global Impression-Severity and Global Assessment of Functioning scores over a treatment period of 6 months. While subjects in Classes 1 and 2 significantly improved over 6 months, those in Class 3 showed little or no improvement in our clinical parameters. Conclusion: : This study has yielded data with clinical implications for treatment planning and interventions for each subgroup classified that were based on MMPI-2 clinical profiles of military recruits who might be maladjusted to serve.

Convergence and Divergence of Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form

In clinical and empirical literature, there are many different conceptualizations of the construct of narcissism, but most will agree that narcissism includes at least two broad dimensions: grandiosity and vulnerability. The aim of this study was to corroborate both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism constructs by extending the nomologic net of both dimensions. We therefore investigated the convergences and divergences of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) dimensions with the Personality Psychopathology Five-revised (PSY-5-r) trait domains and other Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scales in a community sample (N= 251). Results showed that there is clear and conceptually logical convergence between the PNI scales and MMPI-2-RF PSY-5-r trait domains and other MMPI-2-RF scales. Also, the narcissism factors diverge like expected in terms of associations with MMPI-2-RF scales capturing internalizing aspects. Internalizing MMPI-2-RF scales showed positive relations with vulnerability and negative relations with grandiosity. Moreover, grandiosity did relate positively MMPI-2-RF externalizing scales (AU)