MMPI predictors of mania among psychiatric inpatients.

MMPI data from 64 patients with a diagnosis of manic-depressive illness, manic type, were compared with MMPI data from patients in two comparison groups--64 patients with a psychotic diagnosis other than manic-depressive illness, and 64 patients with a variety of psychiatric diagnoses. Manic patients had higher Ma scale scores for MMPI scales that assess personal distress and interpersonal difficulties (e.g., D and Si). Discriminant analysis, with the Ma, D, and Si scales as predictors, correctly classified as manic or not manic 82.5% of the patients in the derivation sample and 74.2% of the patients in the cross-validation sample. Two high-point pairs, Sc-Ma/Ma-Sc and Pa-Ma/Ma-Pa, occurred in the MMPI profiles of almost half of the manic patients but were rarely found among the profiles of other patients. The results of this study support the use of the MMPI in identifying manic patients, particularly when discriminating between mania and other types of psychosis.

The Mezzich MMPI regression formula revisited.

In a sample of depressed psychiatric inpatients, the Mezzich regression formula, based on five MMPI scales, correlated moderately with clinicians' judgments and yielded few false negative diagnoses in identifying patients with unipolar Major Depressive Disorder, but was less effective in eliminating false positives.

Motivation to obtain self-relevant feedback in depressed college students.

Thirty depressed and 30 nondepressed college students completed a social judgment task. Students initially received either positive, negative, or no preliminary feedback and were told that they could obtain more extended feedback about their performance at a cost of $.20 for each unit of feedback. As predicted, depressed students were willing to relinquish a greater amount of money to obtain self-relevant feedback. Additionally, depressed and nondepressed Ss were more motivated to obtain additional feedback after they had received positive or no preliminary feedback than after they had received negative preliminary feedback. Results support Rehm's (1977) description of a heightened need for external reassurance among depressed persons.

Identification of suicide attempters by means of MMPI profiles.

Used multivariate procedures to determine whether psychiatric patients who had made a suicide attempt immediately prior to hospitalization (N = 161) could be differentiated from nonsuicidal psychiatric patients (N = 161). Multivariate analysis of variance and cluster analysis failed to identify differences in the MMPI data of suicidal and nonsuicidal patients. In contrast, discriminant analysis produced a modest degree of differentiation that generally was maintained in the cross-validation.

A clinical profile of 136 cocaine abusers.

Our examination of 136 cocaine-abusing patients who sought treatment revealed impairment in the following areas: Psychological (99 percent of patients); Interpersonal (87.5 percent); Financial (83 percent); Physical (81 percent); and Vocational (68 percent). Daily dose did, but route of administration did not, contribute to degree of impairment. From these data, we conclude that cocaine's deleterious effects are both physiological and psychological. It appeared to us that maintenance of a cocaine habit is frequently at great expense to the user, regardless of whether the use is intranasal, intravenous, or free-base smoking. In our opinion, it is the multiplicity of psycho-social factors which drives patients to treatment. These factors also define most accurately the extent of consequences associated with cocaine use.

The utilization of positive and negative feedback in the self-evaluation responses of depressed and nondepressed psychiatric patients.

Utilization of positive and negative feedback was investigated in a sample of 20 depressed and 20 nondepressed psychiatric inpatients. Patients, selected on the basis of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory scores and clinical diagnoses, received primarily positive or negative feedback after completing a moral judgment task. Results suggest that depressed patients are likely to utilize positive, personally relevant information to enhance their low self-esteem, whereas nondepressed patients are more likely to counteract negative feedback that is inconsistent with their self-evaluations. The results fail to confirm the presence of memory deficits for positive feedback in depression, proposed by Kovacs and Beck (Am. J. Psychiatry, 135: 525-532, 1978), and are more consistent with the prediction of Mischel et al. (J. Consult. Clin. Psychiatry, 44: 92-103, 1976) that people tend to be cognitively biased toward success and toward perpetuating positive emotional states.

MMPI validity scales and behavioral disturbance in psychiatric inpatients.

Sixty psychiatric inpatients were assigned to one of three groups on the basis of F and K MMPI validity scales. Staff ratings of patient behavior and recorded incidents of "acting-out" behavior were obtained for patients with: (a) "plea for help" validity profiles, (b) hyper-defensive profiles, and (c) average profiles. Patients with "plea for help" profiles were perceived as "acting-out" more frequently and engendering more feelings of frustration than patients in the other groups. These patients account for 77% of the incidents of inappropriate, destructive behavior and 83% of the seclusions in the patients sampled. Although the "plea for help" profile is considered invalid in some scoring systems, results suggest that this validity profile may be useful in treatment planning.