ADAPTING THE MMPI FOR USE IN ASSESSING LATE ADOLESCENTS IN TRINIDAD-AND-TOBAGO

In this study, the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventor y (MMPI) was modified slightly by rewording ten items to fit the verna cular of English employed by young men and women in the Republic of Tr inidad and Tobago. The response alternatives were extended to include a ''don't understand'' answer in addition to ''true'' and ''false.'' T o determine the effectiveness of the MMPI for use in this cultural set ting, 202 male and 246 female high school students between the ages of 15 and 20 years were examined. Two clinical groups also were studied: 26 male and 32 female adolescents in psychiatric treatment, as well a s 49 male and 14 female juvenile offenders incarcerated for various de linquent acts. The retest stability of the basic MMPI scores was evalu ated by readministering the MMPI one week later to samples of normal m ales and females. Validity scale data indicated that these late adoles cents were responding to the MMPI in ways comparable to normal and cli nical groups in the United States. The results of this investigation s upport the use of the MMPI in the appraisal of emotional problems of a dolescents seen in both the mental health and criminal justice systems in Trinidad and Tobago.