Corresponding Author Information: Megan Whitman
Session Abstract: Many constructs that are generally predictive of suicidal ideation and behavior do not significantly discriminate between individuals who experience suicidal ideation without engaging in suicidal behavior (“ideators-only”) and suicide attempters (“attempters”). The goal of the current study was to identify constructs measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 that can discriminate between suicide attempters and ideators-only. We used a pooled sample of 559 participants (61.5% women; 83.4% white; mean age = 40.30 [SD = 15.48] years) from three different clinical settings and calculated point-biserial correlations to investigate associations between MMPI-3 scale scores and attempter status. We also reported mean T-score differences across groups. We found that attempters scored meaningfully higher on measures of externalizing problems relative to ideators-only with clinically meaningful effect sizes.
Presenters:
Megan Whitman | Kent State University
Andrew Kremyar | Kent State University
William Menton | Kent State University
Yossef S. Ben-Porath | Kent State University
Megan Whitman
Megan Whitman is a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Kent State University. Her research interests include psychological assessment, especially using the MMPI instruments. She is particularly interested in forensic assessment.
Andrew J. Kremyar
Andrew J. Kremyar is a third-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Kent State University. His research interests include examining the role of transdiagnostic mechanisms in psychopathology and assessment of internalizing phenomena with the MMPI family of instruments.
Dr. Yossef Ben-Porath
Yossef Ben-Porath is a Professor of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University. He received his doctoral training at the University of Minnesota and has been involved extensively in MMPI research for the past 36 years. He is a co-developer of the MMPI-3, MMPI-2-RF, and MMPI-A-RF and co-author of test manuals, books, book chapters, and articles on the MMPI instruments. Dr. Ben-Porath is a board-certified psychologist (American Board of Professional Psychology-Clinical) whose clinical practice involves supervision of assessments at Kent State’s Psychological Clinic, consultation to agencies that screen candidates for public safety positions and provision of consultation and expert witness services in forensic cases.