Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory correlates of panic disorder with agoraphobia: changes with treatment

Forty-seven patients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder with agoraphobia (PAG) were assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment with imipramine, clomipramine and placebo. At pre-treatment patients had higher MMPI scores than the local normative data, the highest scores being for depression, hypochondria and hysteria. At week 8 the scores of most MMPI scales were significantly reduced. In addition, patients who showed clinical improvement had pre- and post-treatment scores lower than the unimproved patients. The results suggest that the abnormal MMPI profile found in PAG patients reflects the clinical state and that personality pathology relates to treatment outcome. The reduction in MMPI scores was associated with response to active treatment. We conclude that therapeutic interventions that successfully reduce PAG symptoms also modify personality scores.