The MMPI and neurologic dysfunction: Profile configuration and analysis

Abstract

This study examined the application of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) to the assessment of personality and emotional status in neurologic patients. Eighteen specialists in the clinical neurosciences examined the standard MMPI and indicated those items they felt were potentially tapping valid manifestations of neurologic damage or dysfunction. Forty-four items, loading primarily on the Hs, Hy, and Sc scales, were identified. These items were then deleted from the standard MMPI protocols of a heterogeneous group of 115 verified neurologic patients and the protocols rescored in the usual fashion. Corresponding high-points between the original MMPI and the modified version occurred in 46% of the cases. Comparable two-point code types occurred in only 29% of the cases. Taking into account the neurologic content of the MMPI can thus considerably alter the MMPI profile of a neurologic patient. Caution should thus be exercised with regard to the application and literal interpretation of the MMPI in neurologic cases.

Emotional and psychosocial problems after brain injury

“…Second, some results obtained with this instrument are an artefact of test items and scale composition, and cannot be compared with similar results obtained by patients with "functional" psychiatric disorders. We refer here in particular to the fact that many items included in scales Hs (h$pocondriasis), Hy (hysteria) and Sc (schizophrenia) of the MMPI refer to questions that tap valid symptoms or manifestations of brain damage (Lezak, 1983;Alfano, Finlayson, Steams, & Neilson, 1990). High scores on these scales can, therefore, be due either to psychopathological reasons in patients with functional psychiatric disorders or to neurological symptoms in patients with brain injury.…”

Symptom Checklist 90–Revised in neurological outpatients

“…An important shortcoming in the administration of questionnaires in general in a neurological population is the absence of specific normative data. The applicability of personality questionnaires in neurological patients has been subject of discussion in different studies, and multiple limitations have been described (e.g., Alfano, Finlayson, Stearns, & Neilson, 1990;Alfano, Paniak, & Finlayson, 1993;Bornstein & Kozora, 1990;Glassmire et al, 2003). Many limitations also hold for the administration of the SCL-90-R in this population.…”

Assessment of neurobehavioural disability: A review of existing measures and recommendations for a comprehensive assessment tool

“…However, these measures were neither designed with the symptoms of NBD in mind, nor standardized for people with ABI [26]. Subsequent attempts have been made to modify existing measures in an attempt to increase their validity, including the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) [34,35]. Perhaps the best known adaptation is the Neurobehavioral Rating Scale (NRS) [36], which is a modified version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale.…”