MMPI-2 Profiles of Persons with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

We compared the MMPI-2 profiles of adults with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), epileptic seizures (ES), and nonepileptic seizures (NES). Both NES and MCS are medically unexplained conditions. In previous studies profiles associated with NES were elevated on scales Hs and Hy, compared with profi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical neuropsychologist 2006-12, Vol.20 (4), p.848-857
Main Authors: Binder, Laurence M., Storzbach, Daniel, Salinsky, Martin C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Case-Control Studies
Diagnosis, Differential
Epilepsy - diagnosis
Epilepsy - physiopathology
Epilepsy - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
MMPI - statistics & numerical data
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - diagnosis
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - physiopathology
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity - psychology
Personality - physiology
Retrospective Studies
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Summary:We compared the MMPI-2 profiles of adults with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), epileptic seizures (ES), and nonepileptic seizures (NES). Both NES and MCS are medically unexplained conditions. In previous studies profiles associated with NES were elevated on scales Hs and Hy, compared with profiles associated with ES. We predicted that profiles associated with MCS would be elevated on Hs and Hy compared with the ES group. Patients with ES and NES were diagnosed after intensive EEG monitoring using published criteria. MCS was diagnosed if there was a complaint of illness in response to multiple common odors at levels that are not noxious to most people. All the MCS cases had legal claims for injury related to chemical exposures. The results showed that on MMPI-2 scales Hs, D, and Hy the MCS group had means significantly higher than both the ES and NES groups. Fake Bad Scale scores were elevated in 11 MCS cases, and regression-based estimates of Fake Bad Scale scores showed elevation in the MCS group compared with both seizure groups. We conclude that MMPI-2 data, obtained from people seeking financial compensation, indicate that there is a strong psychological component to MCS symptoms.
ISSN:1385-4046
1744-4144
DOI:10.1080/13854040500246927