The emotional adjustment of a learning disabled population in adulthood, as measured by the Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory
Date
1984
Authors
Russell, Vivian
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the personality and. psychiatric aspects of a group of adults who had been diagnosed in childhood as suffering from a primary learning disability. Previous research has produced equivocal results, with some investigators claiming long-lasting emotional maladjustment in learning handicapped individuals, and others stating that the child "outgrows'' most of the adverse affective concomitants associated with his learning disability. In the present study. one hundred and seven subjects, identified in childhood as being learning handicapped, as well as a control group of forty-six average academic achievers, were administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory as adults. The learning handicapped subjects were divided into three groups based on presence and extent of neurological involvement in childhood: Group 1 (BD) had hard neurological signs, Group 2 (MBD) had soft signs, Group 3 (LD) had no sign of brain damage. Clinical subscales of the MMPI were selected to highlight the expected picture of general unhappiness and emotional maladjustment. It was hypothesized that the learning handicapped groups would have elevated scores on the MMPI compared to controls, but would not be significantly different from each other. On the selected subscales it was predicted that there would be a clear pattern of increasing maladjustment from the controls through, the LD and MBD groups, with the BD group showing the most disturbed picture. In general the hypotheses were supported, with the three learning handicapped groups showing poorer adjustment as measured by the MMPI, and the selected subscales indicating that the controls consistently displayed better adjustment and a more positive outlook on life. The results of individual group comparisons on the MMPI scales and the subscales are discussed and possible explanations for the findings are offered.