The final rules, when applied to a cross validation sample, yielded a classification rate of 82% and an over-all hit-rate of 72%. The P-type, N-type, and PD-type ...
OBJECTIVE CONFIGURAL RULES FOR DISCRIMINATING MMPI PROFILES
159
The final rules, when applied to a cross validation sample, yielded a classification rate of 82% and an over-all hit-rate of 72%. The P-type, N-type, and PD-type hitrates were respectively 92%, 70%, and 57%. The potential significance of certain "test-miss" findings were indicated. REFERENCES 1. DRAKE, L . E . Interpretation of MMPI profiles in counseling male clients. J. counsel. Psychol., 1952, 5, 83-88. 2. GuTBHiE, G. M. Common characteriBtics a88ociated with frequent MMPI profile types. / . din. PsjM., 1952, 8, 141-145. 3. HATHAWAY, S. R. and P. E, MEEHL. The MMPI. In Military clinical psychology. Department of the Army, Technical Manual, TM 8-242; Department of the Air Force Manual, AFM 160-45, 1951. 4. HATHAWAY, S. R . and E. D. MONACHESI (Eds.) Analyzing and predicting juvenile delinquency with the MMPI. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1953. 5. MEEHL, P. E. Profile analysis of the MMPI in differential diagnosis. J. appl. Psychol., 1946, 50, 517-524. 6. MEEHL, P. E. and W. G. DAHLSTROM. Objective configural rules for discriminating psychotic from neurotic MMPI profiles. / . consuU. Psychol., 1960, ^4, 375-387.
THE IDENTIFICATION OF MALE HOMOSEXUALITY WITH THE MMPI STANLEY KRIPPNER
Kent StaU University PROBLEM
The MF scale of the MMPI was designed to measure the tendency of an individual toward masculinity or femininity of interest pattern. Some investigators have used it to identify homosexuality despite Hathaway and McKinley's ('• P ^"^ statement that " . . . homosexual abnormality must not be assumed on the basis of a high score without confirmatory evidence." In an attempt to construct a scale for the specific purpose of identifying male homosexuality, Panton^*^ compared the MMPI responses of 58 homosexual prison inmates with the responses of 174 nonhomosexual inmates. He discovered 22 items which differentiated, at high levels of confidence, between the two groups. When his scale was applied to the MMPI responses of another group of prisoners, it correctly identified 86% of the homosexual inmates and 81% of the non-homosexuals. Panton claimed that his scale made correct identifications irrespective of mental ability level. As a result, it was decided to utilize this scale, as well as the MF scale, in an investigation of honaosexuality among college males. Both scales, alone and in combination, were to be judged as to their effectiveness in identifying homosexual problems. It was also decided to correlate both scales with the number of high clinical scales on the MMPI to explore each measure's relationship to emotional instability. PROCEDURE
The sample consisted of 72 male upperclassmen, self-referrals for vocational, educational, and personal counseling at a private midwestern university. All Ss were administered the MMPI by the investigator and represent his case load while employed by the university's Dean of Men in 1959-1960. MF and Panton scores were computed for each S. The sample was then divided into two groups: those Ss who, during the counseling interviews, spontaneously dis-
160
STANLEY KRIPPNER
cussed homosexual problems (Group A) and those who did not (Group B). Many of the Group A Ss discussed other problems as well, matters which were more pressing than homosexuality. In addition, it is possible that there were some Ss in Group B who were suffering from homosexual conflict but did not mention the topic. Of the 72 Ss, 20 fell into Group A and 52 into Group B. These groups were subdivided on the basis of their MF and Panton scores, an MF T-score of 70 being used as one cutoff point. The cut-off point on the Panton scale was 11 as suggested by Panton (»). Pearson product-moment correlations were run between these scores and the number of clinical T-scores on the MMPI above 70. This technique, an adaptation of that used by Goldman and Chyatte that college males characteristically make high MF scores. The Panton scale was a slightly better identifier of homosexuality among the Ss despite the fact that it was constructed in a prison setting. Only 11 of the Ss attained high scores on both scales and there was a non-significant relationship (r = .21) between the MF and Panton scores. Further investigation along the lines
THE IDENTIFICATION OF MALE HOMOSEXUALITY WITH THE MMPI
161
suggested by Ellis ^^^ might demonstrate a qualitative difference between the homosexual problems identified by the MF scale and those identified by the Panton scale. The two scales may identify somewhat different types of homosexual problems because of a difference in content. Nichols ^*^ found that more MF items dealt with "obvious" male-female differences than with "subtle" sex differences. Furthermore, no relationship emerged when "obvious" and "subtle" items were correlated. An inspection of the MF and Panton scales suggests that the former is heavily loaded with "obvious" items while the latter is not. In fact, only five of the 22 items on the Panton appear on the MF; most of these are "subtle" rather than "obvious" in nature. SUMMARY
The MMPI was administered to 72 college males who were self-referrals for counseling. MF T-scores above 70 identified 75% of those Ss who spontaneously discussed homosexual problems during the counseling interviews. Panton raw scores of 11 and above identified 80%. All Ss who reported homosexual problems had high scores on either the MF or Panton scales. The relationship between MF scores and the number of MMPI clinical T-scores above 70 was significant at the .01 level. No such relationship existed between Panton scores and high MMPI clinical scores. REFERENCES 1. ELLI8, A . Homosexuality and creativity. / . clin. Psychol, 1959,15, 376-379. 2. GOLDMAN, I. J. and CHTATTB, C . Femininity as related to paranoid characteristics among actors. A paper presented at the annual convention of the Amencan Psychological Association, 1961. 3. HATHAWAY, S . R . and MCKINLST, J. C. Manual, Minnesota MuUipkasic Perwnality Inventory. New York: Psychological Corooration, 1951. 4. NICHOLS, R . C . Subtle, obvious, and stereotype measures of masculinity-femininity. Educ. PsyM. Meas., 1962, 22, 449-461. 5. PANTON, J. H. A new MMPI scale for the identification of homosexuality. / . clin. Psychol, I960,16,17-21. 6. WiNFiELD, D. The relationship between IQ score and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. / . soc. Psychol, 1953, 38, 299-300.
