The development of the MMPI-A Immaturity Scale: findings for normal and clinical samples

The Immaturity (IMM) Scale was developed as a supplementary scale for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A). This study describes the development of the IMM Scale and presents some concurrent validity data derived from the MMPI-A normative sample of 1,620 adolescents and a clinical sample of 122 adolescent inpatients. The IMM Scale was examined in relation to Biographical and Life Events data to identify external correlates for the MMPI-A normative sample. In the clinical sample, external correlates were derived from diagnostic and rating form data provided by the adolescents' treatment staff and by their parents. Current findings were discussed in terms of the relationship of correlate patterns to descriptions of the preconformist and conformist stages of Loevinger's (1976) concept of ego development, and future research directions were suggested.