MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY-INVENTORY PROFILES OF VIETNAM COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER AND THEIR CHILDREN

Forty children of 28 fathers who are Vietnam Veterans with posttraumat ic stress disorder (PTSD) completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personal ity inventory Each of the fathers had al least one elevated clinical s cale. Fathers averaged eight elevated clinical scales. and compared to more recent norms, fathers averaged seven elevated clinical scales. S eventy-eight percent of the children had at least one clinically eleva ted scale (averaging three elevated clinical scales). Compared to cont emporary normal adolescents and adults. 65% of children had at least o ne clinically elevated scale (still averaging three elevated clinical scales). No consistent MMPI profile patterns emerged within or across the two groups, No gender differences were detected among child MMPI p rofiles. Forty percent of the children reported illegal drug use, and 35% reported behavior problems. Fifteen percent of children reported p revious violent behavior. Eighty-three percent of the children reporte d elevated Cook-Medley hostility scores as compared to an age-matched national normative sample. Children with higher PK scores were also si gnificantly more likely to report higher Cook-Medley hostility scores. Forty-five percent of children reported significant elevations on the PTSD/PK subscales. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.