Internal Structure of the MMPI-2 Addiction Potential Scale in Alcoholic and Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract

Recently, Weed, Butcher, McKenna, and Ben-Porath (1992) introduced two new scales for assessing alcohol and drug abuse with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989): the Addiction Potential Scale (APS), an empirically derived measure similar to the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC; MacAndrew, 1965), and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale. Like the MAC, the APS was designed to identify the personality dimensions associated with substance abuse. Although there has been evidence to support the discriminative validity of the APS among samples of abusers, nonabusers, and psychiatric inpatients (Greene, Weed, Butcher, Arrendondo, & Davis, 1992; Weed et al., 1992), there has been no attempt to determine the personality dimensions tapped by the APS. Thus our study investigated the internal complexities of the APS. Using MMPI-2 protocols from a sample of alcoholic and psychiatric inpatients, we subjected the APS to a principal components analysis with subsequent varimax rotation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to name the components that were identified. Five components consistently emerged across settings: Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction with Self, Powerlessness/Lack of Self-Efficacy, Antisocial Acting-Out, Surgency, and Risk-Taking/Recklessness, Clinical advantage gained from a knowledge of the internal structure of the APS was illustrated using 6 patients from the alcoholic sample. A rational approach to validating the empirical structure of the APS was discussed as a potential avenue for future research.

An Investigation of Goodman's Addictive Disorder Criteria in Eating Disorders

“…It was developed with the aim of identifying personality characteristics and lifestyle patterns associated with substance abuse but without any direct content to substance use (Weed et al, ). Factor analyses of the APS have shown that this scale contains, besides the typical impulsive factors such as acting out, surgency and risk‐taking, other factors such as dissatisfaction and lack of self‐efficacy, more directly focusing on the psychological distress of the subjects (Clements & Heintz, ; Sawrie et al, ). The APS has shown acceptable test–retest reliability (0.73 for APS) (Greene, Weed, Butcher, Arredondo, & Davis, ; Weed et al, ).…”

MMPI-2 Symptom Validity (FBS) Scale: Psychometric Characteristics and Limitations in a Veterans Affairs Neuropsychological Setting

“…PCA is an appropriate and recommended methodology for evaluating the phi coefficients derived from dichotomous data such as in the MMPI-2 (R. L. Gorsuch, personal communication, October 10, 2011;Gorsuch, 1983, p. 296;Nunnally, 1978, pp. 132ff) and is customarily used in MMPI-2 item-level research (Arnau, Handel, & Archer, 2005;Ben-Porath & Sherwood, 1993;Hamilton, Finlayson, & Alfano, 1995;Hale & Finn, 2010;Han, Weed, & Butcher, 2003;Han, Weed, Calhoun, & Butcher, 1995;Henry, Heilbronner, Mittenberg, & Enders, 2006;Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, & Jordan, 2006;Sawrie et al, 1996). PCA was part of the methodological basis for the development of the restructured clinical scales of the MMPI-2-RF (Restructured Form; Tellegen et al, 2003).…”

Discriminative validity of the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale with Cluster B personality disorders

“…Because of this purported ability to measure personality variables, the MAC frequently has been utilized in studies assessing personality traits (Sawrie et al, 1996). In a review of the MAC and MAC-R factor-analytic literature, Sawrie et al (1996) stated that a number of personality factors consistently have been derived through factor analysis techniques.…”

“…In a review of the MAC and MAC-R factor-analytic literature, Sawrie et al (1996) stated that a number of personality factors consistently have been derived through factor analysis techniques. MacAndrew (1967) identified 13 factors, but five of these were comprised of only one or two items.…”