Interpretation of Excitatory and Suppressor Scales: Can they be re-captured on the MMPI-A-RF?
Abstract
Concepts of excitatory (4, 8, 9) and suppressor (2, 5, 0) scales have been used in the interpretation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent Version (MMPI-A, Butcher, Williams, Graham, Archer, Tellegen, Ben-Porath, & Kaemmer, 1992) concerning the prediction of delinquent and acting out behaviors. Due to the elimination of scales 0 and 5 from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality InventoryAdolescent - Restructured Form (MMPI-A-RF; Archer, Handel, Ben-Porath, & Tellegen, 2016), and changes in item content on the MMPI-A-RF RC scales (2, 4, 8, 9), the applicability of these concepts for MMPI-A-RF interpretation is uncertain. The current study explored the possibility of employing such concepts with the MMPI-A-RF. Specifically, an Excitatory scale and Suppressor scale were created from items on the MMPI-A-RF. These newly created scales were tested for internal reliability and validity with the excitatory and suppressor scales on the MMPI-A and the Externalizing and Internalizing scales on the Youth Self-Report (YSR; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). The sample included 4,109 adolescents, ages 13 to 18, who were referred for psychological assessment in an inpatient hospital setting. The findings indicate adequate reliability for the Excitatory and Suppressor scales. The Excitatory scale had convergent validity with all related scales. For the Suppressor scale, all related scales had convergent validity. Further, the Excitatory and Suppressor scales made unique contributions separate from other scales on the MMPI-A-RF in assessing acting out behavior and internalizingbehavior on the YSR.
Subject Area
Quantitative psychology|Personality psychology|Clinical psychology
Recommended Citation
Hawthorne, Monique, "Interpretation of Excitatory and Suppressor Scales: Can they be re-captured on the MMPI-A-RF?" (2022). ETD Collection for Pace University. AAI29443796.
https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/dissertations/AAI29443796
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