Posttraumatic Stress, Depression and Dissociation as Predictors of MMPI-2 Scale 8 Scores in Combat Veterans with PTSD

ABSTRACT

Findings from a previous study of sexual abuse trauma victims (Elhai, Gold, Mateus, & Astaphan, 2001) were replicated to assess whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and dissociation symptoms account for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) scale 8 scores in combat trauma victims. Participants were 122 male veterans seeking outpatient treatment for combat-related PTSD. Hierarchical regression analysis assessed whether PTSD symptoms incrementally accounted for variation in scale 8 scores above and beyond depression and dissociation symptoms. Results revealed that PTSD symptoms did not incrementally account for additional scale 8 variation. However, negative and positive symptoms of psychosis did account for variance in scale 8. Clinical implications for assessment of PTSD and psychosis with trauma victims are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Combat
• military veterans
• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2
• psychosis
• posttraumatic stress disorder