Abstract

We investigated the clinical utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- Adolescent-Restructured Form(MMPI-A-RF) by comparing it with the MMPI-A. The subjects were 61 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, diagnosed with internalizing disorders who visited the Department of Neuro-psychiatry at a University Hospital. We conducted Pearson's correlation analyses and paired t-tests on the MMPI-A and MMPI-A-RF scales. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which the clinical scales of the MMPI-A can explain the higher-order scales of the MMPI-A-RF. The results showed a significant correlation between the corresponding validity and PSY-5 scales in the MMPI-A and MMPI-A-RF, as well as significant correlations between the clinical scales of the MMPI-A and the corresponding restructured scales of the MMPI-A-RF. The mean T-scores of MMPI-A-RF restructured clinical scales were significantly lower than those of MMPI-A clinical scales. Multiple regression analyses confirmed that the 2(D) and 7(Pt) clinical scales in the MMPI-A significantly explained the MMPI-A-RF emotional/internalizing distress (EID) scale. This study is the first to compare the MMPI-A and MMPI-A-RF directly in psychiatric adolescent patients to evaluate the clinical utility of the MMPI-A-RF. The results suggest that the MMPI-A-RF can be useful for evaluating emotional and psychological problems in adolescents.