The following presents the use of the MMPI-2 for individual testing of a schizophrenia patient. The case information is followed by the general use of the MMPI-2 for diagnosis of schizophrenia and the application of this test to the patient.
The present case involves a 50-year-old single male who was diagnosed as schizophrenic at around age 29 years when he experienced his first psychotic break. Following this outbreak his symptoms went into remission until age 45 years when he experienced another psychotic episode. He has been hospitalized continuously since this break. He has little memory about the previous acute periods and is doing well in the hospital. The staff finds him to be cooperative and engaged in hospital activities. Current testing will determine the patient's psychological resources and rehabilitation potential.
The MMPI and the MMPI-2 both differentiate schizophrenia from other disorders. Moldin, Gottesman, Rice, and Erlenmeyer-Kiimling (1991) reported that the scales from the MMPI differentiate DSM schizophrenia from bipolar and unipolar affective illness. For example in a sample of patients, schizophrenic patients had highest mean scores on scales 8 and 6 compared to the depressive profile characterized by elevations on scales 4,8,2,7, and 6 and bipolar-manic profiles characterized by elevations on scales 8,9, and 4.
Munley, Busby, and Jaynes (1997) noted that the MMPI 2 profiles distinguish between schizophrenia and other disorders. For example, in a study of patients, the depression group had significantly higher mean scale scores on Scales 2 (Depression), 4 (Psychopatic Deviate), 7 (Psychasthenia), O (Social Introversion), Anxiety, Depression (DEP), and Social Discomfort, compared to schizophrenic patients. Clinical scales 2 and 7 and content scales DEP, BIZ, ANX, and SOD aid in the differential diagnosis of schizophrenia versu
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