title: The utility of the PAI and the MMPI-2 for discriminating PTSD, depression, and social phobia in trauma-exposed college students.
abstract: This study investigated the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Revised (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) with regard to each instrument's utility for discriminating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from depression and social phobia in a sample of college students with mixed civilian trauma exposure. Participants were 90 trauma-exposed undergraduates (16 male, 74 female) classified into one of four groups: PTSD, depressive disorders, social phobia, and well-adjusted. For both the PAI and the MMPI-2, profile analysis revealed that the groups differed in the elevation and shape of their profiles. The PAI Traumatic Stress subscale demonstrated good discriminant validity.
authors.affiliation: Auburn University, USA.
authors.forename: Meghan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: McDevitt-Murphy
authors.forename: Frank W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Weathers
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Flood
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Eakin
authors.forename: Trisha A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Benson
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003645:Death, Sudden; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008950:MMPI / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011902:Rape / Q000523:psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology