Clinical accuracy ratings of MMPI approaches for adolescents: adding ten years and the MMPI-A

Ehrenworth and Archer (1985) examined the relative merits of adolescent Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) profiles utilizing either adult or adolescent scoring norms (Marks & Briggs, 1972). Eleven years later, the MMPI-A has been introduced into clinical use. It has been suggested that in these early years of the MMPI-A, clinicians plot both MMPI-A norms and Marks and Briggs (1972) norms to derive a clinical interpretation of a given profile, especially when code type interpretation is used (Archer, 1992). This study partially replicates the work of Ehrenworth and Archer (1985) by exploring the relation between code types generated with different norms (MMPI-A [Marks & Briggs, 1972] and adult K-corrected) in a sample of 134 adolescent psychiatric inpatients (77 female, 57 male). Code type narratives were blindly rated by members of the adolescent inpatient treatment staff. Although mean scores for the MMPI-A were significantly lower than those produced by the other two sets of norms, the use of the MMPI-A did not result in a clinical disadvantage. Both sets of adolescent norms (the Marks & Briggs and the MMPI-A) produced higher accuracy ratings than did the use of adult K-corrected norms but did not differ from each other. Gender differences were found on all three sets of norms, with female adolescent psychiatric inpatients scoring higher than male inpatients, particularly on Scales 1, 2, and 3.