Validity of the MMPI-A structural summary in a forensic sample: effects of ethnicity, gender, and age

• Main Author: Slatkoff, Joshua
• Other Authors: Strauss, Esther
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: adolescent psychopathology; diagnosis; UVic Subject Index::Humanities and Social Sciences::Psychology; First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/2099

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A) Structural Summary was developed to aid in parsimonious interpretation of the instrument s 69 scales and subscales. The current study of 130 male and female young offenders had two goals: (1) evaluate the criterion validity of the Structural Summary as a function of ethnicity (First Nation versus Caucasian), gender, and age (16 years and under versus 17 years and older); (2) examine ethnic, gender, and age differences in the elevation of Structural Summary scores. The MMPI-A Structural Summary showed strong evidence of criterion validity and few ethnic, gender, or age differences were noted. However, compared to Caucasian youth, statistically significant and clinically meaningful elevations were found for First Nations youth on four of eight Structural Summary dimensions. As well, older adolescents were more elevated than younger adolescents on a dimension measuring general maladjustment. Results reflect substantive differences in psychopathology rather than an artefact of test bias.