MMPI. A Assessing Adolescent Psychopathology

451 Pages·2005·27.91 MB·English

by  Robert P. Archer

MMPI-A: Assessing Adolescent
Psychopathology
Third Edition
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MMPI-A: Assessing Adolescent
Psychopathology
Third Edition
Robert P. Archer
Eastern Virginia Medical School
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
2005 Mahwah, New Jersey London
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Copyright © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
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other means, without prior written permission of the publisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Archer, Robert P.
MMPI-A : assessing adolescent psychopathology / Robert P. Archer.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
ISBN 0-8058-5187-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents.
2. Adolescent psychopathology—Diagnosis. I. Title.
RJ503.7.M56A73 2005
616.89'00835—dc22 2005002244
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on
acid-free paper, and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 21
To my good friends and colleagues,
Denise Holloway and David Elkins,
my gratitude for your efforts that have made possible this third edition.
To all of us there come days when the earth is stale, flat and tedious At that extremity
of misanthropy some men start a revolution and others take to drink; but for my part I go
to sea. Every man to his own recreation.
—Raymond B. Cattell
Under Sail Through Red Devon
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Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xi
1 Adolescent Development and Psychopathology 1
Developmental Tasks During Adolescence 1
Adolescence and Psychopathology 13
Summary 21
2 Development of the MMPI and the MMPI-A 23
Development of the MMPI 23
Use of the MMPI With Adolescents 30
Development of the MMPI-A 37
Summary 48
3 Administration and Scoring Issues 49
Qualification and Background of Test Users 49
Administration Issues 50
Test Materials 64
Scoring the MMPI-A 65
Appendix 3.1 73
4 Validity Scales and Validity Assessment Interpretation 80
MMPI-A Validity Scales 80
Additional Validity Scales for the MMPI-A 93
Effects of Response Sets on Standard Scales 97
A Conceptual Model for Validity Assessment 106
Summary 114
5 Basic Clinical Scale and Codetype Correlates for Adolescents 115
Profile Elevation Issues and the MMPI-A Profile "Shaded" Zone 115
Uniform T-score Transformation Procedures for the MMPI-A 123
Codetype Congruence Issues 124
The Codetype Interpretation Approach 129
Deriving a Codetype Classification for Adolescents 131
Single-Scale and Two-Point Codetypes 133
Factors Potentially Affecting Codetype Interpretation 168
vii
viii CONTENTS
6 Beyond the Basic Scales: Interpreting Additional
MMPI-A Scales and Subscales 180
Content Scales 180
Supplementary Scales 206
The Harris-Lingoes and Si Subscales 217
The MMPI-A Structural Summary 228
7 Use of the MMPI-A in Forensic Evaluations 239
Overview of Juvenile Crime Statistics 239
Overview of the Juvenile Justice System 247
Role of the Psychologist in Forensic Adolescent Evaluations 255
Use of the MMPI-A in Forensic Adolescent Evaluations 262
Summary 270
8 Interpretive Issues and Strategies 271
Steps in MMPI-A Profile Interpretation 272
Clinical Case Examples 275
Computer-Based Test Interpretation (CBTI) Systems 304
Appendix 8.1 311
A Adolescent Norms for the Original MMPI for Males and Females
for Ages 14 and below, 15,16, and 17 333
B Item Composition of MMPI-A Basic Scales, Harris-Lingoes and
Si Subscales, Supplementry Scales, and Content Scales 346
C T-Score Conversions for MMPI-A Basic Validity and Clinical Scales,
Content and Supplementary Scales, and the Harris-Lingoes
and Si Subscales 363
D T-Score Conversions for Basic MMPI-A Scales Permitting Estimates
of the Marks and Briggs Adolescent T-Score Values Provided
in Dahlstrom, Welsh, and Dahlstrom (1972) 375
E Forbey and Ben-Porath MMPI-A Critical Items 388
F Item Composition of the MMPI-A Content Component Scales 391
G Scale-Level Factor Structure for the MMPI-A Normative Sample 399
References 403
Author Index 425
Subject Index 433
Foreword
Yossef S. Ben-Porath
Kent State University
In the preface to this edition of his MMPI-A interpretive guide, Robert Archer observes
that the empirical literature available to guide the test's interpretation has expanded
considerably since the second edition's publication in 1997. As the individual who has
played the leading role in generating this research and who has been recognized as
the authority on adolescent applications of the MMPI since the publication of his first
book on the topic in 1987, Dr. Archer is uniquely qualified to provide this updated
text on the MMPI-A.
This edition retains all of the strengths of its predecessors. In the first chapter, use of
the MMPI-A is placed in the broader context of current understanding of adolescent
development in general and psychopathology in particular. This chapter provides
vital background for interpreting the MMPI-A in adolescent assessment, and I would
admonish readers not to give in to the temptation to skip it and head straight for the
book's "interpretive meat." The second chapter, on the development of the MMPI and
MMPI-A, similarly provides important background information that should not be
overlooked.
The adolescent MMPI literature, although substantially expanded, remains man-
ageable enough in size to allow Dr. Archer to follow in the tradition of Dahlstrom and
Welsh's original MMPI Handbook by combining in one volume a scholarly review of the
test's empirical literature and a practical guide to its interpretation. The book's users,
especially students gaining their first introduction to the test, would do well to first
read the entire text of each chapter before using the "Interpretation Guidelines" tables
for the scales in routine MMPI-A interpretation. These tables provide a scale-by-scale
user-friendly summary of Dr. Archer's review of the extensive empirical literature,
supplemented by his broad clinical experience with the test. They remain the heart of
this text, and many users will refer to them routinely in day-to-day practice.
Since the 1997 edition, several new scales and a critical item set have been intro-
duced for the MMPI-A, and this edition provides much-needed guidance on their
incorporation into MMPI-A interpretation. The most important innovation of this
edition is the inclusion of a new, comprehensive chapter on forensic applications of
the MMPI-A. This chapter will be of greatest interest to the increasing number of
psychologists who use the test in forensic evaluations; however, it should be studied
by all of the test's users. As the mental health field becomes increasingly litigious and
psychologists play an expanding role in the forensic evaluation of adults and adoles-
cents, anyone using the MMPI-A, even primarily for clinical assessments, would be
well advised to become familiar with the background for and literature on forensic
applications of the test. Chapter 7 provides this much-needed information.
ix