MMPI-2 profiles of Gulf and Vietnam combat veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder

✍ Scribed by D. Michael Glenn; Jean C. Beckham; William S. Sampson; Michelle E. Feldman; Michael A. Hertzberg; Scott D. Moore

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 84 KB
• Volume: 58
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9762
• DOI: 10.1002/jclp.1149

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The current study examined service era differences in a sample of 172 Gulf and Vietnam outpatient veterans with combat‐related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants completed the MMPI‐2 and several additional self‐report measures of symptom severity (PTSD, depression, anxiety, hostility, and health complaints). Results indicated that MMPI‐2 profiles differed significantly according to service era with Vietnam veterans scoring higher on scales 2, 8, and 0 and lower on scale 9 than did Gulf veterans. Examination of group means derived from parametric analysis of MMPI‐2 data suggested a mean two‐point code type of 2–8/8–2 for Vietnam veterans and 1–8/8–1 for Gulf veterans. In contrast, when the data were examined using descriptive techniques based on frequency counts of individual MMPI‐2 profiles, the most frequently occurring two‐point codetype was 7–8/8–7 for Vietnam veterans, and 6–8/8–6 for Gulf veterans. In addition, Gulf veterans reported a greater number of total health complaints than Vietnam veterans, whereas Vietnam veterans reported a greater number of physician‐diagnosed physical conditions. Potential advantages of incorporating descriptive approaches versus parametric methods when examining profile data are also presented. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 58: 371–381, 2002.