Correlates of MMPI-A Scales in Acute Psychiatric and Forensic Samples

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to expand the empirical basis for interpretation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992). Participants were 157 boys from a forensic setting and 197 girls from an acute psychiatric inpatient setting. Criterion variables were identified from sources such as psychiatrist report, parent report, and psychosocial history. Results generally support the construct validity of MMPI-A scales. Scales measuring internalizing problems were more highly correlated with criterion measures of internalizing behaviors than measures of externalizing behaviors, whereas scales measuring externalizing problems were more highly correlated with externalizing variables than with internalizing criteria. Implications of this study include an expanded empirical foundation for interpretation of the MMPI-A, greater understanding of the constructs it measures, and evidence supporting the generalizability of these constructs across settings.