Methodological variations in the use of the MMPI for diagnosis of borderline personality disorder among alcoholics

Abstract

Methodological variations in the scoring and interpretation of the MMPI and their effects on discrimination between borderline and non‐borderline personality disordered alcoholics were investigated. Subjects were 49 male and female inpatient alcoholics in an Icelandic psychiatric hospital. Gunderson's Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test were used to diagnose borderline personality disorder and alcoholism, respectively. Scoring and interpretation of the MMPI were varied in terms of the use and non‐use of high F‐scale profiles, and their impact on the frequency of various code types among borderline and non‐borderline personality disordered alcoholics was considered. It was found that such methodological variations do not affect the frequency of some profile types, and, consequently, the discrimination between the diagnostic groups. Studies and coding systems should consider methodological variations in the scoring and interpretation of MMPI profiles and their consequent effects on diagnosis.

The research base, psychometric properties, and clinical uses of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A.

“…The MMPI-2 also has some shortcomings because of its close similarity to the MMPI. For example, it retains some of the unresolved ambiguities of the MMPI in its development, scoring, and interpretation (Horvath & Jonsdottir-Baldursson, 1990). As instruments of personality and behaviour the scales of the MMPI, and consequently the MMPI-2, are not based on a consistent rationale for scale construction.…”