The research worker in psychology and education is frequently confronted with the problem of analyzing differences between two or more groups of individuals with respect to several variables. The problem of differentiating certain selected groups in terms of MMPI scores, for instance, is a good case in point. However, the kinds of statistical procedures commonly used may be subject to criticism on several grounds. Briefly, the several empirical methods of approach which have been developed lack the rigidity of a strictly mathematical model, while such univariate procedures as the t test or analysis of variance, when applied to separate keys of the MMPI, fail to take into account the amount of correlation that exists between scores on these keys. These procedures, in short, have failed to provide methods for obtaining mathematically rigid statements of profile or pattern differences.It is one of the purposes of this paper to provide an illustration of the application of more recently developed statistical procedures, namely the generalized distance function (D 2 ) and Fisher's discriminant function (LDF) to the solution of problems involving the comparison of MMPI profiles. These techniques have been employed to find answers to the following questions:1. To what extent can groups of nondelinquent and delinquent-prone ninth-grade high school boys be differentiated in terms of
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