Abstract
All parents completed an MMPI upon evaluation of their child at a clinic before diagnosis. For this study, 144 pairs of parents were selected to reflect the sex ratio of the clinic population. This sample was divided into three groups according to the diagnostic classification of the child: (1) minimal cerebral dysfunction, (2) behavior disorder, and (3) normal child. Separate multivariate analyses, computed for the groups by comparing the mean MMPI scores on the validity scales and the clinical scales for fathers and mothers, showed no significant differences in MMPIs of fathers on the validity scales. Also, no difference appeared on the three sex-determined analyses of the clinical scales. However, significant differences were found when scores for both the mothers and combined fathers and mothers were analyzed across the validity scales. The mothers of children with behavior disorders produced lower K scores (test-taking attitude). It was concluded that, while these parents could not be differentiated on the basis of clinical scales of the MMPI, they could be on the test-taking attitude of the mothers of those children evidencing behavior disorders.
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