Date of Award

Spring 1996

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Director

Robert P. Archer

Committee Member

J. D. Ball

Committee Member

Robin J. Lewis

Committee Member

Elaine Justice

Committee Member

Alan Rountree

Abstract

Despite numerous theories of adolescent ego development, there is no objective measure of ego development or maturation targeted for the assessment of adolescents. The Immaturity (IMM) Scale developed for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent (MMPI-A) was designed to fill this void in adolescent assessment. The present study examined the concurrent validity of the IMM Scale based on sixty-six adolescents (13-18 years old) in an inpatient setting using four prominent measures of maturity, i.e., The Defining Issues Test (DIT), the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status - Second Revision (EOM-EIS-2), and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Revision (WISC-III), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R), and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R). Additionally, demographic profiles and staff ratings using the Devereux Adolescent Behavior Rating Scale (DABRS) were employed to examine the external correlates of the IMM Scale. Correlations, analysis of covariance, and a stepwise multiple regression were conducted to examine the relationship between the IMM Scale and the instruments listed above. The results of this study provide concurrent validity for the IMM Scale and support the construct validity of the IMM Scale as a measure of maturity. A number of descriptors for high and low scores on the IMM Scale are provided. This study does not support the use of the IMM Scale as a moderator variable in the MMPI-A Basic Scale interpretation.

Comments

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculties of The College of William and Mary, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk State University, and Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology through the Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology.

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DOI

10.25777/5m8p-sh05

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