PROBLEM
Rotter's Incomplete Sentences Blank (*I, although developed first for a college sample, has been extended to an Adult form, and is frequently used in psychiatric settings. Rotter and Rafferty stressed the test's value as a measure of degree of maladjustment, and presented a reasonable way of scoring signs of emotional disturbance, based on the presence of omitted responses, overlong responses, content reflecting conflict or negative affect, etc. The manual did not recommend use of the numerical score in clinical cases where a qualitative description was the primary goal; nonetheless, there are times when an assessment of adjustment level is sought, e.g., in order to decide whether an outpatient should be transferred to inpatient status, or an inpatient is ready to be discharged. This study tested the validity of the Rotter and Rafferty adjustment score against a severity of illness criterion within a mental hospital setting.
Subjects. The subjects were 60 female patients randomly selected from a small university-affiliated mental hospital. All were between the ages of 17 and 45, without evidence of organic involvement. None were "back ward" cases, and all were in relatively good contact with the environment. Each subject was classified acute or chronic. Acute patients were those with no history of previous hospitalization for a mental disorder, and whose present illness began within 12 months of testing. All others were classified chronic. The Ss were also classified as psychotic, personality disorder, or psychoneurotic, based on the diagnosis assigned a t staff conference.
Test. The test used was the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank, Adult form.