MMPI-A Clinical Scales for Adolescent Personality Assessment

MMPI-A Clinical Scales

The clinical scales assess different dimensions of personality and provide information about likely conditions.

Primary Clinical Scales

• Scale 1 (Hs: Hypochondriasis): This reflects concerns about health and disease.
• Scale 2 (D: Depression): A measure of the degree of general dissatisfaction with life.
• Scale 3 (Hy: Hysteria): Includes the assessment in two areas: somatic concerns and denial of problems on the one hand, and the need for acceptance and approval on the other.
• Scale 4 (Pd: Psychopathic Deviate): This was built on the basis of responses from young people who had issues with alcohol abuse, robbery, and sexual promiscuity.
• Scale 5 (Mf: Masculinity-Femininity): High scores in males indicate the presence of feminine patterns or interests, and in women, the presence of masculine interests. Caution is needed in interpreting the scale, as the characteristics presented by adolescents with high scores are still under study.
• Scale 6 (Pa: Paranoia): Points to paranoid symptoms; their content relates to ideas of reference, suspiciousness, and feelings of persecution. It is also associated with aggressiveness.
• Scale 7 (Pt: Psychasthenia): Points to a wide variety of symptoms. In adolescents, it is associated with a high degree of self-criticism, anxiety, tension, and nervousness.
• Scale 8 (Sc: Schizophrenia): These include the presence of bizarre thoughts, peculiar perceptions, social isolation, changes in mood and behavior, and difficulties in concentration and impulse control. In adolescents, it was associated with school and parental problems.
• Scale 9 (Ma: Hypomania): Evaluates the presence of feelings of grandiosity, irritability, selfishness, elevated mood, and hyperactivity.
• Scale 10 (Si: Social Introversion): Assesses social interaction problems.

Content Scales

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessions
• Health Concerns
• Alienation
• Extravagant Thinking
• Hostility
• Cynicism
• Behavior Problems
• Low Self-Esteem
• Low Aspirations
• Social Unrest
• Family Problems
• School Problems
• Negative Indicators

Additional Treatment Scales

• MAC-R (Alcoholism): Indicates if the subject has a high probability of engaging in problems related to alcohol and drugs. They are usually extroverted and exhibitionistic individuals who are exposed to risk.
• ACK (Acknowledgment): Indicates the extent to which the teenager has admitted problems with alcohol and drugs.
• PRO (Propensity): High scores indicate the likelihood that a teen can, in the future, have problems with alcohol and drugs.
• A (Anxiety): Presence of adjustment problems and feelings of discomfort and emotional maladjustment.
• R (Repression): Compliance, submission, and a tendency to avoid unpleasant situations.