Scale 5 of the MMPI and MMPI-A: evidence of disparity

Scale 5 of the MMPI and MMPI-A was compared in a repeated measures design. Participants for the study were 43 adolescents classified as emotionally disturbed in a public school system and 17 inpatients at a residential treatment center. The MMPI Scale 5 mean score was substantially higher than that of the MMPI-A. The alternate-form reliability between Scale 5 of the two forms was surprisingly low, suggesting that the deletion of 16 items and rewording of 6 additional items changed the scale on the MMPI-A to an extent that may have significantly altered the underlying construct. The authors discuss factors that could be associated with the findings, including: (a) the diminished ability to express feminine interest on the MMPI-A, and (b) general changes in attitudes among adolescents over the 3 or more decades since the MMPI norms were developed.