MMPI-2 profiles of women differing in sexual abuse history and sexual orientation

✍ Scribed by Penny L. Griffith; Rita W. Myers; Gary M. Cusick; Melody J. Tankersley

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 167 KB
• Volume: 53
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-9762
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199712)53:8<791::aid-jclp2>3.0.co;2-j

✦ Synopsis

Four groups of women (N ϭ 115) self-identified as having histories of childhood sexual abuse or no such histories and self-identified as either heterosexual or lesbian were compared using a questionnaire and the MMPI-2. Subjects ranged in age from 21-60 years with 60% between ages 30-50 years. Results of a Three-Way MANOVA for abuse history and sexual orientation repeated across MMPI-2 clinical scales showed a betweensubjects effect for abuse, and within-subjects effects for orientation and abuse. T scores of women with abuse histories were significantly higher than those of women without abuse histories on Hs, D, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma scales of the MMPI-2. Profiles indicated an 8-4 codetype and a Scarlett O'Hara V configuration for the group with abuse history. Heterosexual women obtained significantly higher t scores than did lesbians on the Depression scale. Results show that the MMPI-2 can be used to help detect lesbian as well as heterosexual adults who were sexually molested as children.