The MMPI: regional difference or normal aging?
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is currently undergoing a process of revision and renormalization. Of particular concern is whether or not there is a need to develop separate normative tables for elderly subjects. Colligan, Osborne, Swenson, & Offord (1983) tested a large group of healthy subjects who ranged in age from 18 through 99. Their investigation uncovered numerous significant relationships between test taker age and scores on various scales of the MMPI. The present study looked at the MMPI profiles of 214 healthy men and women between the ages of 39 and 89. The results gleaned from this investigation do not reflect the same intensity of age-related changes that are reported by Colligan et al. (1983) and other similar studies. More specifically, we were unable to detect the age-related elevations in the "neurotic triad" (Hs, D, Hy scales) that have often been cited by other researchers. Additionally, we were not able to support the typically reported aging effects in scales Mf, Pa, Pt, and Si. We suggest that these and other similar differences may be attributed to geographic, societal, and population factors.
Koeppl
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PM
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Bolla-Wilson
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Bleecker
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ML
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D015142:Baltimore; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011594:Psychometrics; D012737:Sex Factors