Post-traumatic stress disorder and the MMPI-2

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Military mental health
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) significantly impacts veteran mental health.
• Accurate assessment of PTSD is crucial for effective treatment.
• The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is a widely used psychological assessment tool.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare MMPI-2 profiles between veterans with PTSD and a non-PTSD comparison group.
• To identify specific MMPI-2 scales that differentiate veterans with PTSD.
• To evaluate the diagnostic utility of MMPI-2 scales for PTSD in a veteran population.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 27 veterans diagnosed with PTSD and 27 non-PTSD veteran patients.
• Three multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were performed on MMPI-2 scales.
• Analyses focused on traditional clinical scales, supplemental scales, and content scales.

Main Results:

• The PTSD group showed elevated scores on the F validity scale, and clinical Scales 2 (Depression) and 8 (Schizophrenia).
• MANOVAs for supplemental and content scales were significant, unlike the traditional clinical scales.
• The Keane PTSD (PK) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PS) scales, along with the Anger (ANG) content scale, showed significant differences, with higher scores in the PTSD group.
• A PK cut-off score of 28 achieved 76% overall classification accuracy.

Conclusions:

• MMPI-2 supplemental scales, particularly the PK and PS scales, are effective in differentiating veterans with PTSD.
• The PK scale demonstrates promising diagnostic utility for PTSD in veterans.
• These findings support the use of specific MMPI-2 scales in the assessment of PTSD among military personnel.