Convergent validity of select scales of the MMPI and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist-Youth Self-report.

The convergent validity of select clinical scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist-Youth Self-report was evaluated in a sample of 188 adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Clinical scales of the MMPI (Scales 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 0) and of the Youth Self-report subscales of Somatic Complaints, Depressed, Aggressive, Delinquent, Thought Disorder, and Unpopular were selected for comparison based on their conceptual similarity. The extent to which scores for self-reported behavior on the Youth Self-report converged with scores on related clinical scales of the MMPI was evaluated by correlations and multiple regression. Concurrent validity for most comparisons between similar scales of the two measures was indicated and support the validity of the Youth Self-report as a self-report measure with an heterogeneous clinical sample of adolescents. The results establish a clear link between self-reported behaviors on the Youth Self-report and scores obtained on the select MMPI clinical scales which would conceptually be associated with those behaviors.