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Neurocognitive parameters should be incorporated in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‐2 assessment of patients with alcohol use disorders
Author(s) -
WALVOORT SERGE J. W.,
WESTER ARIE J.,
EGGER JOS I. M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0959-5236
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2011.00407.x
Subject(s) - minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , psychology , abstinence , psychopathology , clinical psychology , neurocognitive , psychiatry , alcohol use disorder , personality , personality disorders , personality assessment inventory , california psychological inventory , cognition , alcohol , social psychology , biochemistry , chemistry
and Aims. Treatment planning for alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients is often preceded by the assessment of psychopathology and personality with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‐2 (MMPI‐2). However, during periods of abstinence, cognitive impairments (e.g. attention, memory and executive dysfunctions) related to neurological and somatic pathology may affect level and pattern of MMPI‐2 scale scores, resulting in clinical misinterpretation. Design and Methods. A re‐analysis of the data of the Egger et al. study is conducted in order to examine the clinical significance of the MMPI‐2 profiles of 222 AUD patients (mean age 42.2 ± 9.6 years; 76.6% men) by using neurologically relevant item correction procedures. Hierarchical cluster analyses of neurologically relevant item‐corrected solutions were compared to the original MMPI‐2 profile. Results. Impulsiveness and psychopathic deviation were identified as a common denominator. Discussion and Conclusions. Uncorrected MMPI‐2 assessment in AUD tends to overstress psychopathology and to overlook disinhibitory traits in early abstinence, caused by chronic alcoholism. [Walvoort SJW, Wester AJ, Egger JIM. Neurocognitive parameters should be incorporated in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory‐2 assessment of patients with alcohol use disorders. Drug Alcohol Rev 2012;31:550–557]