Predicting DMS-IV cluster B personality disorder criteria from MMPI-2 and Rorschach data: a test of incremental validity.
Despite their frequent conjoint clinical use, the incremental validity of Rorschach (Rorschach, 1921/1942) and MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) data has not been adequately established, nor has any study to date explored the incremental validity of these tests for predicting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) personality disorders (PDs). In a reanalysis of existing data, we used select Rorschach variables and the MMPI PD scales to predict DSM-IV antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic PD criteria in a sample of treatment-seeking outpatients. The correlational findings revealed alimited relation between Rorschach and MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) variables, with only 5 of 30 correlations reaching significance (p <.05). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that both the MMPI and Rorschach data add incrementally in the prediction of DSM-IV borderline and narcissistic PD total criteria scores. The findings were less clear for the incremental value of Rorschach and MMPI-2 data in predicting the total number of DSM-IV histrionic PD criteria, which were best predicted by Rorschach data, and antisocial PD criteria, which were best predicted by MMPI-2 data. In addition to providing evidence of the incremental validity of Rorschach data, these findings also shed light on the psychological characteristics of the DSM-IV Cluster B PDs.
Blais
M A
MA
Inpatient Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114, USA. mblais@partners.org
Hilsenroth
M J
MJ
Castlebury
F
F
Fowler
J C
JC
Baity
M R
MR
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012392:Rorschach Test