title: Concurrent validity of the MMPI-A in a counseling program for juvenile offenders.
abstract: This study was conducted to examine the concurrent validity of the MMPI-A (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent) in an adolescent offender setting. From a sample of 50 court-adjudicated youths participating in an outpatient counseling program, 42 valid MMPI-A profiles were obtained, 33 of which were accompanied by counselor ratings of behavior problems. The highest mean elevations on the MMPI-A were on scales MAC-R (MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale-Revised), A-Con (Adolescent Conduct Problems), A-Sch (Adolescent School Problems), Pd (Psychopathic Deviate), and IMM (Adolescent Immaturity). Counselor ratings of behavior problems correlated highly with scales ACK (Alcohol and Drug Acknowledgment Scale), A-Sch, A-Ang (Adolescent Anger Problems), Ma (Hypomania), and PRO (Alcohol/Drug Problem Proneness). This pattern of results supports the concurrent validity of the MMPI-A for use in this setting.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Mississippi, University 38677, USA.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Toyer
authors.forename: N C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Weed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000786:Anger; D002648:Child; D003376:Counseling; D003415:Crime; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders