MMPI measures as signs of predisposition to mental disorder among adoptees at high risk for schizophrenia

• Published in: Psychiatry research 2008-04, Vol.158 (3), p.278-286, Article 278
• Main Authors: Siira, Virva, Wahlberg, Karl-Erik, Miettunen, Jouko, Läksy, Kristian, Tienari, Pekka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adoption - psychology; Adult; Affective Symptoms - diagnosis; Affective Symptoms - epidemiology; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child of Impaired Parents - psychology; Child of Impaired Parents - statistics & numerical data; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Finnish Adoptive Family Study; Follow-Up Studies; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - epidemiology; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - psychology; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Mental disorder; Mental Disorders - diagnosis; Mental Disorders - epidemiology; Mental Disorders - genetics; MMPI; MMPI - statistics & numerical data; Offspring of schizophrenic mothers; Personality Assessment; Predictive Value of Tests; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Risk Factors; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenia - epidemiology; Schizophrenia - genetics; Schizophrenic Psychology; Social Behavior; Social Class; Techniques and methods
• ISSN: 0165-1781; 1872-7123
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2006.12.005

Abstract The DSM-III-R diagnoses of a group of adoptees were predicted by the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) schizophrenia-related scales in the Finnish Adoptive Family Study. The sample consisted of 60 high-risk (HR) adopted-away offspring of biologic mothers with a diagnosis of broad schizophrenia spectrum and 76 low-risk (LR) control adoptees. They were assessed with the MMPI before the onset of any psychiatric disorder at a mean age of 24 years. High scores on the Psychopathic Deviate scale predicted psychiatric disorder at 11-year follow-up. Furthermore, LR adoptees', but not HR adoptees', mental disorders could be predicted with the MMPI scales Psychopathic Deviate and Golden-Meehl Indicators. These scales measure schizophrenia-related personality traits, including asocial behavior, anhedonia, ambivalence, interpersonal aversiveness, and formal thought disturbances.