Shipley institute for living scale and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test as screening instruments for intelligence

This study assessed the comparability and acceptability of two tests used to screen for overall intelligence levels in adults. At issue is whether either of these two tests is preferable for a definable subject population. Participants drawn from college (n = 30) and forensic (n = 50) settings completed the Shipley Institute for Living Scale (SILS), the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT), and the reading section of the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R). The correlation between the SILS IQ and the K-BIT IQ scores was .77 for the college sample and .83 for the forensic group, with no significant differences between SILS and K-BIT mean IQ scores within each sample. Reading level also was significantly correlated with SILS and K-BIT IQ scores for both groups. A preference for the SILS over the K-BIT was expressed by two overlapping groups: college students and above average readers, while a majority of the forensic sample and poorer readers chose the K-BIT. Although the SILS and K-BIT yield comparable IQ scores within a sample, clinicians may want to consider the subject's reading ability, educational history, and feelings and attitudes about the assessment situation in deciding which of these two IQ screening tests to utilize.

Factor structure of the Million Adolescent Personality Inventory for psychiatric inpatients

A principal components factor analysis (with varimax rotation) was performed on the Millon Adolescent Personality Scale Base Rate scores of 335 adolescent psychiatric inpatients. A four-factor solution was obtained (accounting for 84.1% of the variance), which was similar to that obtained by Millon, et al, for the normative sample. Confirmatory factor analyses, however, using data obtained from computer generated random responses to the test, also fit the inpatient and normative sample data very well. The factor structure of the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory therefore was inferred to be driven by the considerable item-scale overlap that characterizes the test.

Persistent MAPI scale 6 elevations after inpatient treatment

Of 81 adolescent inpatients with elevated (> 74) admission scores on scale 6 (forceful/antisocial) of the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982), 44 (54.32%) continued to have elevated scale 6 scores on the discharge administration of the test. These 44 subjects (labeled High 6) did not differ significantly from the other 37 subjects (labeled Low 6) on several variables that have been associated with conduct disturbance. The two groups did differ significantly, however, on family size, parental (especially paternal) psychopathology, and prognosis. The High 6 group tended to come from larger families, had a higher frequency of parental pathology, and more often received negative prognoses than did the Low 6 group. A discriminant function analysis conducted on the MAPI expressed concerns scales on the admission administration of the test resulted in a 76.54% correct classification of subjects into the High 6 and Low 6 groups. In general, the High 6 subjects appeared less troubled and more trouble than those subjects in the Low 6 group. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of the MAPI as a component in the assessment of the treatment amenability of adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders.

The Rorschach and the assessment of impulsivity

The validity of the Rorschach as an instrument to assess impulsivity was examined in a sample of 55 adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The Rorschach variables considered to be related to impulsivity (D, Adjusted D, M, Afr, X + %, FC:CF+C, and L) were used to predict performance on the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS). Only the discriminant function for the GDS Delay Task (which assesses the ability to formulate response strategies and to benefit from feedback) was statistically significant, with a 76.36% correct classification of subjects. The Rorschach variables with the highest correlations within the discriminant function were D, FC:CF+C, and M. The results of this study appeared to provide some support for the utility of the Rorschach in the assessment of impulsivity.

Reflections on the Rorschach and the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory

Although no significant relationships were found between presence of Rorschach reflection responses and scores on Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory Scales 5 and 6 of 26 boys and 30 girls who were psychiatric inpatients, significant differences within the reflection group were found for diagnosis on Scale 5.

The MAPI as a treatment outcome measure for adolescent inpatients

The Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982) was administered at admission and discharge to 215 hospitalized adolescents. Significant mean score differences were found for both internalizing (affective disorder) and externalizing (disruptive behavior disorder) adolescents. Consistent with theory, internalizing adolescents reported significantly greater distress at both admission and discharge than externalizing adolescents. Finally, test-retest reliability coefficients were somewhat lower than those reported previously (Millon et al., 1982) for hospitalized adolescents.

The utility of the MAPI in the assessment of depression

The relationships between the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982) and depression, as assessed by the Multiscore Depression Inventory (MDI; Berndt, 1968) were examined. Elevations on the MDI subscales were positively related to elevations on MAPI personality style Scale 2 (Inhibited) and Scale 8 (Sensitive) and on six of the eight MAPI expressed concerns scales. MAPI personality style Scale 4 (Sociable) and Scale 5 (Confident) were negatively correlated with the MDI. MAPI code types containing either Scale 2 or 8 were associated with a high MDI full-scale score. The subjects who received a MAPI computer-generated diagnosis of borderline personality disorder also had elevated MDI full-scale scores. The findings of this study appear consistent with the existing body of MAPI research, and the data suggest that the MAPI personality style scales may have both state and trait qualities.

MAPI code types in an inpatient crisis-unit sample

Limited data is available concerning the use of the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI; Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982) and high-point code combinations of its personality style scales. Our study reports on the frequency of high-point codes in an inpatient crisis-unit sample. Data analyses comparing personality style codes using MAPI expressed concerns scale elevations and Rorschach data are reported. Results comparing the personality style codes and expressed concerns scales were consistent with the findings of Millon et al. (1982). Analyses comparing Rorschach and MAPI data revealed only the presence or absence of vista responses as having any appreciable relationship to MAPI codes or personality scales.

Detention and rearrest rates of persons found not guilty by reason of insanity and convicted felons

The authors compared 42 men and 8 women who had been found not guilty by reason of insanity with a group of subjects who had been convicted of a felony (matched in criminal offenses, age, education, marital status, previous arrests, and sex). They found that the acquitted subjects spent significantly less time in the hospital than the matched subjects spent in prison. They also found that about the same number of acquitted subjects who had been released from the hospital were rearrested as were control subjects who had been released from prison. Many more acquitted subjects were rehospitalized than were released control subjects. There appears to have been a change in detention patterns after a switch to the American Law Institute rule and a greater role for the Department of Mental Hygiene in acquittees' hospitalizations.

Characteristics and disposition of persons found not guilty by reason of insanity in New York State, 1971-1976

In order to develop an empirical profile of persons acquitted by reason of insanity from which policy could be developed, the authors studied all acquittals in New York State from 1971-1976. During this period 196 men and 29 women were found not guilty by reason of insanity. In contrast to adults admitted to state correctional facilities, the study group contained proportionately more persons who were white and older. The most frequent crimes for which subjects were tried were homicide, assault, and robbery. Most victims were acquaintances of the defendants. By 1976, 67 persons had been discharged after hospitalization ranging from 1 to 1,235 days. These defendants are still being followed after their return to the community.