title: The differential impacts of Alzheimer's dementia, head injury, and stroke on personality dysfunction.
abstract: The current study was an attempt to empirically measure and compare the personality effects of Alzheimer's dementia, stroke, and head injury. The study hypothesized that there are differences in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) patterns generated by the three groups. It was hypothesized that head injury shows the most personality dysfunction. The subjects included 124 stroke clients, 290 head injury clients, and 166 dementia clients. These individuals averaged 58.04 years old, while the mean education was 12.67 years with a minimum of 7 years. The individuals were mostly Caucasian, but included 80 African-Americans, Hispanics, or others. The average chronicity was 77.55 months. The dependent variables were the patient's personality characteristics as measured by 15 MMPI-2 scales. A MANCOVA indicated that there was a significant difference among the three groups after covarying for age, education, and sex (F(30, 1116)=11.03, p<.001). There were overall differences among 10 of the 15 MMPI scales according to univariate follow-up tests. The major pattern was increased pathology for the Head Injury Group. The Stroke and Dementia Groups differed from each other on 6 of the 15 scales but the overall level of severity was similar. High scores on depression and schizophrenia were seen in all three groups. The data appeared to suggest that such factors as the speed of onset of the injury as well as organic factors both played a role in determining personality dysfunction. The elevation on schizophrenia reflected both personality dysfunction as well as a general elevation related to brain injury.
authors.affiliation: Blanche Ely High School, Pompano Beach, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Zarabeth
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Golden
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Golden
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology