ITEM LEVEL RACIAL DIFFERENCES ON THE MMPI.

The article presents a comparative analysis of MMPI profiles of black and white psychiatric patients. An analysis was conducted wherein corrected chi-square was computed for each item on the race criterion in each sample. Eight factors comprising 53 of 58 items were derived in the psychiatric patient sample. The black psychiatric patient more often than the white psychiatric patient characterized herself as an individual who, although considering herself morally conscientious, was unable to affect her environment, as she felt manipulated by powerful external agents. Ten factors comprising 56 of 65 items were derived in the prison sample. The black prison inmate more often than the white prison inmate characterized himself as having intense feelings, and as conscientious, self-confident, sensitive to self and others. Item-level comparisons have value for further investigations, as scale scores conceal racial differences and as many discriminating items are not keyed so that scale-level comparisons do not utilize all available data.