MMPI profiles of depressed adolescents with and without conduct disorder

This study examined whether adolescents with depression would produce significantly different MMPI profiles from adolescents with depression and conduct disorder. Twenty-four adolescents who met DSM-III-R criteria for major depression or dysthymia were included in the study. Nine of these 24 subjects also met DSM-III-R criteria for Conduct Disorder. Results indicated that depressed only adolescents had significantly higher elevations on scales 2 and 0 while those with depression and conduct disorder had significantly higher elevations on scales F and 9. These findings suggest that the presence of conduct disorder in depressed adolescents may lead to a veiling of their affective symptoms, thus potentially causing clinicians to underdiagnose depression in such cases.