A comparison of scores on the posttraumatic stress disorder subscale of sexually abused and non-sexually abused female adolescents.

Abstract

The present study investigated the potential utility of the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Subscale from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), found valid in diagnosing PTSD in war veterans and civilian trauma victims, in assessing sexual abuse trauma in female adolescents (ages 14 to 18). Mean scores on the PTSD subscale for three groups of female adolescent subjects were compared: 1) a sexual abuse group (N= 66) comprised of sexually abused adolescents from an outpatient mental health center in Kansas, 2) a non-sexual abuse group (N = 22) comprised of adolescents with no history of sexual abuse and a clinical diagnosis other than PTSD from outpatient mental health centers in Kansas, and 3) a normal group (N = 66) comprised of adolescents with no history of sexual abuse or psychological disorders from Kansas. The results of this study revealed that the sexual abuse group scored significantly higher on the PTSD eubecale than either the non-sexual abuse group or the normal group. Although statistically significant, the PTSD subscale showed poor clinical significance in that it failed to identify a history of sexual abuse in 47% of the sexual abuse group. The PTSD subscale was not a valid indicator of sexual abuse in this study. However, subjects who obtained high scores on the PTSD subscale tended to have a history of sexual abuse. In addition, a large variance in scores was observed for the sexual abuse group.