Recent adolescent MMPI norms: T-score elevation comparisons to Marks and Briggs

Abstract

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) norms developed by Marks and Briggs (1967/1972) have served as the standard adolescent norms used for over 10 years. Additional adolescent norms have recently been produced by Gottesman, Hanson, Kroeker, and Briggs (1987) and by Colligan and Offord (1989), thereby providing MMPI users with a potential choice of adolescent norms. Our study examines the effects of these adolescent norm sets on single-scale and profile elevations. In addition, we examine the ability of these norm sets to generate T-score values that would serve to discriminate accurately among adolescents in outpatient (n = 100), inpatient (n = 100), and normal (n = 100) settings. Results indicated that the choice of adolescent norms resulted in important differences in profile elevation. Findings from the discriminant function analyses, however, indicated that these normative sets were roughly equivalent in discriminating among adolescents in the three settings.