MMPI-2 profiles of Australian and Singaporean psychiatric patients

Empirical Investigations of the MMPI-2 Gender-Masculine and Gender-Feminine Scales 1Dr Matthew Woo, Principal Psychologist, is now at the Department of Psychology, Institute of Mental Health, 10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539 747

Abstract. The present study examined the validity of two Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) scales - Gender Masculine (GM) and Gender Feminine (GF) - in discriminating between the gender types - Masculine (High GM/Low GF); Feminine (Low GM/High GF); Androgynous (High GM/High GF) and Undifferentiated (Low GM/Low GF), in cross-national clinical samples. The study consisted of 70 Singaporean and 107 Australian psychiatric patients. Significant pairwise comparisons were found for Undifferentiated-Stereotyped Masculinity, Undifferentiated-Androgynous, Stereotyped Femininity-Stereotyped Masculinity, and Stereotyped Femininity-Androgynous on both measures of psychological well-being for both countries, but not for comparisons between the Stereotyped Masculinity-Androgynous and Undifferentiated-Stereotyped Femininity categories. Independent dimensions of masculinity and femininity - the GM and GF scales - were, therefore, found to distinguish between two of the four sex-type categories on measures of psychological well-being. The current findings indicate that the GM and GF scales seem effective in differentiating between Masculine and Feminine traits, however they seem less effective in differentiating between the four gender types.