MMPI subtypes and antisocial behaviors in adolescent alcohol and drug abusers

Relationships between psychopathology and alcohol, drug abuse, and other deviant behaviors were studied in a sample of 60 adolescents with exaggerated drug use patterns. Modal Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profile subtypes were identified using multivariate analyses, and adolescents defined by profile type were compared on background and antisocial history variables derived from retrospective self-reports. Data were collected reflecting a variety of drug categories, including alcohol and opiates. Three distinct patterns were found, with 97% of adolescents meeting criteria for profile type assignment. Adolescent subtypes were characterized by significant differences in degree and type of psychopathology but not in antisocial features. Adolescent alcohol and illicit drug use were associated with marked antisocial features, but the more exclusively antisocial drug-using adolescents tended to be involved in earlier and more extensive types of alcohol and drug activities.