Litigious Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Profiles

LITIGIOUS MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY (MMPI) PROFILES

"In terms of predispositions, the question could be asked, is there 'a litigious profile' on the MMPI/MMPI-2? The answer is yes and no. Essentially, there is a cluster of non-psychotic paranoid profiles where there appears to be a substantial increment in the readiness to file lawsuits, appeal administrative decisions, or otherwise litigate. Frequently there is a denial of personal, retaliatory intent with instead a self-righteous sense of having to stop the person or group from hurting other people. This cluster is composed of scale 6-Pa [Paranoia] in combination with several other scales. One is the combination of the paranoid scale with an elevation on the depression scale 2-D (the '26/62 code'). This is marked by a resentful martyrdom where the person feels forced to sue to restore his/her lost or damaged rights. Scale 6-Pa combined with 3-Hy [Hysteria] (the '36/63 code') is the maximally self-righteous pattern; it would be wrong to let a wrong go unchallenged. Perhaps the most litigious pattern of all is the (p. 41) combination of 6-Pa with scale 4-Pd [Psychopathic Deviate], the MMPI pattern (the '46/64 code') that strikingly fits the formal psychiatric diagnosis of paranoid personality. Often a petty tyrant in the home (threat of loss of control over his/her temper), the person finds acquiescence of his/her own will to be intolerable, and one lawsuit after another may be 'necessary' to protect his/her rights or correct the wrongdoing of others. The combination of scale 6-Pa with scale 9-Ma [Mania] (the '69/96' code) marks an energized vigilance against mistreatment by others, and 'obvious' or public mistreatment can easily leave one with 'no choice' but to sue. This common tendency across these paranoid patterns to file suit over unfair or wrongly hurtful treatment operates when the profiles are in the normal range as well as when they are 'abnormally' elevated. As scale 6-Pa is increasingly elevated (more intense paranoid trends), the pressure to litigate is seen by others as driven by the person's internal needs and private logic, and the suits become less and less realistic" (p. 42).

Caldwell, Alex B. (1996). Forensic Questions and Answers on
the MMPI/MMPI-2. Caldwell Report, 1545 Sawtelle
Blvd., #14, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (310) 478- 3133

Replies:

Re:Litigious Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Profiles, by T. J., 10/19/01

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