MMPI-2 profiles in traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injured patients
✍ Scribed by Neil Robert Fow; John Yee; Denise Wilson-O'Connor; Rachele Spataro
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 439 KB
- Volume
- 52
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0021-9762
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Demographics on traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) identify the population as predominantly young adult male. Individuals with non-traumatic spinal disabilities are also commonly seen for rehabilitation. There is less demographic homogeneity in non-traumatic SCI as it includes a variety of medical causes including, but not limited to, cancer, neurological disease, spinal stenosis, surgical complications such as ischemia, and congenital conditions. Previous research indicates that traumatic and non-traumatic SCI are approximately equal in frequency (Parsons & Lammerste, 199 1). While research utilizing well standardized psychometric instruments such as the MMPI has been conducted with individuals with traumatic SCI, there is, to our knowledge, none directed at non-traumatic SCI.
A well known SCI psychological study by Taylor (1967) found elevations on the Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania scales of the MMPI, suggesting levels of impulsiveness and energy which might place individuals at increased risk for traumatic SCI. Research utilizing Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale supports this characterization, SCI patients differing from controls on sensation seeking, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility (Mawson, Jacobs, Winchester, & Biundo, 1988). While many clinicians might agree that this is an accurate depiction of the SCI patient, other research has failed to replicate this personality characterization in the SCI population. Further, research has not established that SCI patients, on the whole, demonstrate psychological distress or adjustment problems. Bourestom and Howard ( 1965) compared the MMPI profiles of patients with multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and spinal cord injury. The multiple sclerosis group had the highest elevations on the first three clinical scales, the arthritis group showing elevations on the Depression and Paranoia scales, while the spinal cord group showed no significant elevations. Relationships have been found between SCI patients' scores on the Beck Depression Scale, SCL-90, and the duration of inpatient rehabilitation and performance of self care; however, overall, the test profiles were not elevated (Malec & Neimeyer, 1983). Huang, Kim, and Charter (1990) studied 64 spinal cord patients assessed within one year of their injury and found no predominant MMPI profile. The highest mean T score was only 64, on Hypochondriasis.
Unifying the themes of personality traits and psychological adjustment, Athelstan and Crewe (1979) suggest it is the same personality traits which, while placing individuals at risk for injury and frustrating treatment staff due to non-compliance, also positively influ-