MMPI COMPARISONS BETWEEN PARENTS OF YOUNG EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED AND ORGANICALLY RETARDED CHILDREN

Compared MMPI profiles for parents of 2 groups of young deviant children matched in age and sex 12 Ss diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed with no medically determined organic signs, and 12 Ss retarded on an organic basis with no signs of emotional disturbance. Results showed differences between the 2 groups of mothers, and only minimal differences between the 2 groups of fathers, on the MMPI. Both groups of parents had several significantly elevated MMPI scales when compared with the Minnesota norm groups. A parental stress reaction was emphasized as a possible basis for the MMPI elevations in both groups, and an organic, rather than a functional, etiology for children diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed in early childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1968 American Psychological Association.