A comparison of professionally employed lesbians and heterosexual women on the MMPI. 1977

M R Adelman

The hypothesis tested is whether lesbianism implies psychopathology. The MMPI was given to 26 nonpatient lesbians who were professionally employed full time, and the results were compared to those for a group of 29 similarly employed heterosexual women. With the exception of the Sc scale, no difference was found on the clinical scales. The lesbian group achieved a significantly higher elevation than the nonlesbians on the Mf and Sc scales. Further analysis of the data on the Sc subscales indicated no difference on the pathological part of the scale, but rather a difference in degree of social alienation. Analysis of the data according to a second variable, living status, found significant differences and has important implications for future studies of the lesbian population. Single women, regardless of sexual orientation, scored significantly higher on scales K and Pa and on the Pa subscale naivete. A significant interaction between sexual orientation and living status was achieved on one scale, the F scale.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008950 MMPI A personality inventory consisting of statements to be asserted or denied by the individual. The patterns of response are characteristic of certain personality attributes. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
D011599 Psychopathology The study of significant causes and processes in the development of mental illness.
D005260 Female Females
D006716 Homosexuality The sexual attraction or relationship between members of the same SEX. Homosexuality, Ego-Dystonic,Ego-Dystonic Homosexuality,Homosexuality, Ego Dystonic
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D012918 Social Alienation The state of estrangement individuals feel in cultural settings that they view as foreign, unpredictable, or unacceptable. Alienation, Social,Social Adversity,Social Breakdown Syndrome,Adversities, Social,Adversity, Social,Alienations, Social,Breakdown Syndrome, Social,Breakdown Syndromes, Social,Social Adversities,Social Alienations,Social Breakdown Syndromes,Syndrome, Social Breakdown,Syndromes, Social Breakdown
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