MMPI-2 Custody Report

CALDWELL REPORT 5839 Green Valley Circle Suite 203 Culver City, CA 90230 TEL 310-670-2874 FAX 310-670-7907

January 31, 2008

NAME: Sample 46

AGE: 61

SEX: Male

EDUCATION: 15 years

MARITAL STATUS: Married

REFERRED BY: -------

DATE TESTED: August 1, 2007

TEST ADMINISTERED: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)

Custody

VALIDITY

Morally Proper Responding: His responses to the MMPI-2 "leaned" in the moral and proper direction.  He was hesitant to report various minor faults and shortcomings that the MMPI-2 normative subjects usually did admit.  But in contrast to this, the attitude of the average child custody litigant is to respond slightly more properly than he did.  The results are definitely within acceptable validity limits, but they may slightly under-represent his areas of psychological problems.  Based on scales L, Sd, and a part of K that is not attributable to socioeconomic status.

Subtle Intentional Minimizing: His scores showed a mild degree of caution as to what emotional and interpersonal discomforts he chose to admit.  This was slightly more than usual for the MMPI-2 normative sample but approximately equal to the average for a sample of child custody litigants. Based mainly on the Mp scale, secondarily on scales S, Sd, and a part of K that is not attributable to socioeconomic status.

Atypical and Deviant Responding: His scores on the scales measuring unusual responding and overreporting of pathology were well within acceptable limits.  There were no indications of any systematic attempt to exaggerate his level of emotional distress or to malinger psychopathology.  Based mainly on scales F and Ds and secondarily on scales Fb, Fp, and the difference of raw F minus raw K.

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Positive Social Confidence and Self-Esteem: The pattern of scores suggests a high level of social effectiveness and positive belief in himself.  He is apt to be described by such terms as poised, persuasive, fluent, or expressing himself clearly.  He may also be seen as productive, effective, showing initiative, cheerful, and/or arousing of liking in others.  Thus, his relatively high elevation on scale K primarily reflects an effective and sophisticated adjustment and positive self-confidence.  His K score is only secondarily the product of subtle defensiveness and a conscious desire to "look good".  Based mainly on Block's Ego Resiliency scale (the best MMPI measure I can find for general likableness) and scale K, and secondarily on the Ss scale, ego strength, Do (as autonomy), and an absence of overly self-favorable responding.

PERSONAL STYLE

Cheerful vs. Guilt Issues, Depressed: His responses did not report any significant amount of depression.  In general he should show generally positive and cheerful moods.  Based mainly the elevation of scale 2-D, with small additional weights for the deepening effects of scales 7-Pt and 8-Sc and low elevations on 9-Ma.

Energy Level: Slow Pace vs. High Energy:  He tests as having an about average level of activity and energy, as neither lacking in energy nor as overly driven.  Based strongly on scale 9-Ma with secondary weights on the Ma-2 subscale, the type A scale, 9-Ma greater than 4-Pd, and an energizing aspect of 3-Hy greater that 2-D.

Denying and Repressive vs. Frank and Candid: He tests as a somewhat repressive and denying individual.  That is, he would be seen as wanting to avoid antagonistic confrontations or perhaps even as physiologically becoming painfully upset when forced to confront someone's anger at him.  At times he would also be seen as tending to have "Pollyanna" attitudes and as looking the other way in order not to have to face uncomfortable problems. Based mostly on scale 3-Hy and additionally on indices of repressiveness, i.e., Hy-Subtle and the Repression-Sensitization scale, and the denial elements of scale L.

Level of Health Concerns: His responses suggest a relatively limited amount of concern about or attention to his own physical health.  This would not rule out occasional lapses in his attentiveness to his child(ren)'s physical well-being when he felt other interests or problems to be urgently pressing. Based centrally on 1-Hs plus some weights on Hy-obvious and the primacy (or not) of Hs in the code.

Awareness of Her Potential for Interpersonal Provocation: He appears generally lacking in awareness of the ways in which he upsets or provokes others.  He would poorly appreciate how his reactions bother or annoy them and why they see him negatively when they feel offended by him. The awareness of interpersonally provocative behaviors is assessed primarily by

scores on the Control (Cn) scale.  High scorers are typically able to put up a facade and to successfully hide provocative thoughts and aggressive impulses; low scorers have self-justified good intentions with a limited awareness of "bugging" others, this latter being the frequent direction of custody litigant responses.  There is also a small influence by weights on L and Mf masculine.  Clinical confirmations of these interpretations of Cn have been remarkably strong and consistent.

Oriented Toward Own Agenda vs. Incorporates Others' Interests: He would be quick to see things in terms of his own agenda and personal interests. Momentarily genuine expressions of empathy are not likely to be dependable in guiding his future behavior.  He might ignore the interests of others--possibly including those of his own child(ren)--when he felt seriously threatened or blocked.  Based strongly on 4-Pd and secondarily on 9-Ma, with an additional weight on how much 4-Pd is predominant in the profile, a small weight on a psychotic tilt in the profile (internally driven ideation) , and adjustments for defensive covering over.

Social Shyness vs. Extroversion: He tests as generally extroverted socially.  He would like social occasions, be relatively comfortable in group leadership roles, accept public attention, and probably be reluctant to spend any extended periods of time alone.  At times he might promote sociability in a way that could be seen as dismissive of a child's interpersonal discomforts.  Primarily based on the score on the O-Si scale with small adjustments for the shyness content scale (SOD) regarding visibility of the trait and K for consciously trying to appear social and gregarious.

Level of Dav-to-Dav Organization: His scores indicate a high level of immediate personal organization.  This anticipates relatively good intellectual efficiency (a correlate of the Ego Strength scale which is strongly weighted here) as well as independent and competent effectiveness in many different situations.  He would waste little time and energy worrying or in ineffective or self-distracting activities.  Basically the ego strength scale with adjustments for the interference of anxiety (Welsh A) and K to assess for an exaggerated assertion of high or low competence.

ADULT ROLE MODELING

General Emotional Threshold: His scores anticipate a somewhat elevated threshold for allowing his emotional feelings to surface and be expressively engaged, although occasionally intense outbursts would not be unexpected. That is, over the longer term his emotions would be relatively held in and carefully modulated as compared to the MMPI-2 normative sample, although this is approximately average for child custody litigants.  A child's unrestrained emotionality could at times be uncomfortable for him and would require some effort for him to manage constructively and without tending to suppress the child's natural reactivity.

The larger weight for this variable is on Welsh's scale R, on which high scores anticipate a constriction of one's engagement with one's emotions, i.e., less open and spontaneous expression, briefer intervals of expression or outbursts, and degrees of a general inhibition; low scores anticipate relatively immediate if not ongoing emotional reactivity, the person's emotions being relatively obvious and present.  Minor weights are for the modulating effects of higher K and disinhibition of lower K scores, the emotionally outgoing quality reflected in low scores on Block's Ego Control (EC-5) scale, and the emotional activation (or not) of scale 9-Ma.

Potential for Self-Centered Actions vs. Other-Centered Reactions: When stressed or threatened, he could pursue his self-interests in urgent or even forceful ways.  In past experiences he may have felt that he has never gotten what he wanted unless he went all out for it.  Such experiences could disinhibit his social forwardness whenever he feels his interests are likely to be thwarted.  He may show less than a normally expected regard for the adverse consequences of his actions on others or even what might be seen as some indifference to usual social expectations.  Based substantially on scales 9-Ma and 4-Pd, the "9-4" code just within or close to the normal range being the prototype of the DSM criteria for Narcissism.  Several pages of algorithms then include the contributions of coding (rank ordering) effects among the eight basic clinical scales.

Externalizing--Internalizing: He tests as seeing most of his problems as external to himself, as usually resulting from the actions of others, and as not likely to resolve unless others change.  The admission of personal shortcomings or actions for which he could be blamed may be vulnerable for him due to past experiences when such admissions were turned against him in what were experienced as emotionally cold or even crushing attacks. Focusing on the deficiencies of others may be the "safe way to go".  This is based on Welsh's I-E Ratio (internalization-externalization), which is the combined sum of the T-scores on scales 3-Hy, 4-Pd, and 9-Ma as externalizing divided by the sum of the T-scores on scales 1-Hsy 2-D, and 7-Pt as internalizing.  This has been expanded to cover a wider range of code positions of these scales along with other small weights.

Linear Focus Under Stress vs. Strained Reasoning: His scores indicate a potential for some unusual self-justifications or peculiar and unexpected shifts in his stream of thought.  When he feels threatened, his ideas may be oddly connected and possibly difficult to follow.  At times others may perceive his behaviors to be poorly judged or somehow less than appropriate to the circumstances.  Some individuals with this pattern can identify closely with children and their vulnerabilities, but if there were any indications of mean or punitive behavior, this latter--as well as the chronicity of variations of his thinking and any specific deficits of parenting--may need to be specifically evaluated.  Based on scales 6-Pa, 8-Sc, and the Neurotic-Psychotic Index (L. Goldberg).

Interpersonal Functioning: Anxious vs. Self-Comfortable: Anxious vs. Self-Comfortable:  His responses suggest a quite low and non-interfering overall level of state anxiety as

compared to the MMPI-2 normative sample.  This is slightly less than the average level volunteered by child custody litigants.  He presented himself as being generally poised and socially effective and as tending to be interpersonally comfortable.  The primary weight is the Welsh scale A, Anxiety, elevations on which include a substantial element of social impairment; there are also adjustments for K, for scores on Block's Ego Resiliency (ER-S), and for the ANX content scale.

Ability to Let Go, to Forgive and Forget: His scores suggest persisting difficulties in being able to forgive and forget.  With particular and rather narrowly defined values as to what is right and wrong in marital conduct, he could readily focus on specific past occasions when he felt inconsiderately or cruelly hurt.  Such self-righteous resentments would then interfere with his ability to let go and to move on with his life.  The parental modeling of strongly judgmental attitudes could lead to imitative judgmentalness by a child, especially when that child's expectations or wants were frustrated.  Most of 12 summed weights involve scale 6-Pa, with special emphasis on the self-righteousness of the Pa3 subscale and the wounded hurt quality of Pa2, as well as the position of scale 6 in the code and the degree to which it is "spiked" above the other scales.

CONTROL ISSUES

Under-controlled and Ascendant vs. Self-Constrained and Rule-Bound: Compared to the MMPI-2 sample, his controls appear neither too strong and rigid nor too lax and weak; however, his self-presentation suggests that he is a good bit less strictly self-controlled than would be characteristic of the self-presentation of the average child custody litigant.  Self-expression versus social restraint and conformity should be fairly well balanced over time.  Based on the weighting of a series of scales: Responsibility (Re), Block's Ego Control-5 (EC-5), the properness of the L scale, the righteousness of the Pa3 subscale, and the Overcontrolled Hostility scale (0-H).

Low vs. High Decision Control needs: His scores indicate strong needs to make his own decisions and to have "veto rights" over decisions that would affect or control him.  Others are likely to find him more controlling of them than they want or feel necessary.  They may experience this as an inequality of power in their relationships with him.  Based in part on a series of scales, high Dominance-Autonomy (Do) , low Dependency (Dy) , the righteous-judgmental aspect of Pa3, and the control aspect of Ma3 subscale. In addition a long complex of weights adds in the code-rank positions of scales 3-Hy, 6-Pa, and 9-Ma, reflecting the three pairwise code combinations which are most characterized by major control issues.

Potential for Antisocial Conduct: The general potential for antisocial behavior appears somewhat above average.  There would be at least a mild risk for seriously problematic reactions if he were strongly provoked.  Any

past history of physically or verbally aggressive acts would, of course, raise questions as to the dependability and effectiveness of future controls.  Essentially the elevations on scales 4-Pd, 8-Sc, and 9-Ma, the three way combination of which is clearly the antisocial pattern on the MMPI-2, plus minor adjustments for inhibitory factors.

Possible Temper Control Problems: His scores indicate a serious and well above average risk of loss of control over his temper.  Occasions when he felt unfairly or wrongly treated would be particularly likely to have triggered any past outbursts.  Any such outbursts may be part of a "hold it in and then explode" cycle.  Based mainly on elevations on the "temper control triad":  4-Pd, 6-Pa, and 9-Ma with secondary adjustments for alcohol/drug abuse and for the overcontrol and explosive potentials of the 0-H scale; 34 steps of weights.

Vulnerability to Chemical Dependency: He obtained a somewhat elevated score on indices for chemical dependency (primarily the MAC-R alcoholism scale together with the AAS items).  This appears to reflect an emotionally reactive makeup that can include a vulnerability to use chemical agents to relieve emotional distress.  His responses to items reporting chemical use suggest a careful evaluation as to whether or not there is a current or historical problem of chemical dependence.  This is mainly the Mac-R scale with secondary adjustments from the Addiction Admission Scale (AAS) and from 49/94 and 47/74 codes.

PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS POTENTIALS

Quality of Parent-Child Bonding: The depth of his parent-to-child bonding appears likely to be somewhat limited.  One or two observed occasions of positive parent-child interactions should not be depended on as a solid assurance of unconditional parental love; an affection-hungry child can be quite responsive to more than usually received care and attention.  At other important but perhaps not observed moments his personal interests may have overridden the interests of the child(ren).  Any identifiable past occasions when the child's attachment would likely have been dampened or to a degree turned off in response to less than then-needed love and protection or perhaps an underlying degree of indifference to the child's welfare would mark this as a potentially long-term developmental problem.  Such "turning off" moments can impair the child's future capacity as an adult to sustain stable interpersonal bonds.  Based largely on both the absolute elevation of 4 -pd and the relative (code) elevation; minor adjustments for scales 8-Sc, 9-Ma, and Neurotic-Psychotic Index (Goldberg).  Although Pd has many expressions depending on the scales with which is combined, it nevertheless has a central focus on the quality--or impairment--of attachment.  (Megargee et al. demonstrated this dramatically with their "spike 4" prisoner code as the most completely unattached and never bonded of all prisoner codetypes).

Risk of Alienation of Affection: He tests as disposed to dichotomize someone or various others as either for him or as against him.  Thus, he could be quickly sensitive to a child's comments that favored his former spouse over him.  This in turn could directly lead to a perception that the former spouse was attempting to alienate the child's (children's) affections.  If this were to develop, then his efforts to counteract this would have alienating effects against the other parent.  In summary, his potential for reacting in alienating ways could derive from sincere perceptions (whether accurate or not) that the doings of the other spouse had to be counterbalanced.

It should be emphasized that this does not demonstrate alienation as an ongoing issue.  That would need observation of confirming behaviors such as how he puts down the other parent or acts to undermine the authority and worthiness of that parent in the eyes of the child(ren).  More primarily, it would need for the evaluator to record occasions when the child(ren) expressed such attitudes spontaneously and without parental cueing.  Rather, his score on the alienation variable should be viewed as a vulnerability or a potential reaction to intensely threatening circumstances.  Based primarily on scale 6-Pa and the self-righteous subscale Pa3, with small adjustments for whichever of the 7 basic clinical scales the Pa scale is combined when 6-Pa is first or second in the code.

Presentation as a Parent: Role-Played Virtue vs. Sincerity:  A presentation as a good parent is apt to be seen by others as illusory role-playing if not misleading (in a "white lie" or duplicitous sense of reporting "responsibilities" rather than occasions of spontaneous affection).  He would be seen as relatively limited in his unconditional positive love for the child(ren).  This combines the absolute elevations of scales 3-Hy and 4-Pd with their code rankings along with minor adjustments for the Control (Cn) and 0-H scales.  This is to call attention to the ability of the people with 34/43 patterns to role-play ideal parenting and artfully cover over occasions of personal egocentrism, indifference to the child's distress, and abruptly punitive reactions.

Thank you for this referral.

       Alex B Caldwell, Ph.D.

Diplomate in Clinical Psychology

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No clinical or judicial decisions should be made from this information alone.  This material is only intended to facilitate the individual evaluation process by providing an extended set of hypotheses for clinical

exploration.  The possible behavioral tendencies noted here should be confirmed, disconfirmed, or otherwise qualified for this individual by the primary clinical evaluator or other apprbpriate test-knowledgeable persons.

The validity of these ratings derives from two general sources.  The first is the decades of research on the basic scales of the MMPI and MMPI-2, on the patterns of interrelationships among these scales, and on information about the wide range of supplemental scales that have additionally been developed.  The second source is the consulting and clinical experience in child custody cases of the author, Alex B. Caldwell, Ph.D..  The ratings are not based on research that is specific to these characteristics among child custody litigants because no such body of research exists.  Thus, the MMPI-2 is applicable to child custody determinations to the extent that MMPI and MMPI-2 results in general are pertinent to the questions asked in such evaluative procedures.

This report was prepared for our professional clientele.  In most cases this is confidential information and legally privileged.  The ongoing protection of this privilege becomes the responsibility of the professional person receiving the attached material from Caldwell Report.

VALIDITY FACTORS

PERSONAL STYLE

ADULT ROLE MODELING

CONTROL ISSUES

PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS POTENTIALS

The numeric values represent her relative scores on each variable. It is compared against the scores on the variables as obtained by the (1138 males/1462 females) of the MMPI-2 normative sample.

Distributions for the MMPI-2 samples are set at a mean of 50 points with a standard deviation of 10 points.

MEAN SCORES FOR 554 FEMALE CHILD CUSTODY LITIGANTS

VALIDITY FACTORS

PERSONAL STYLE

ADULT ROLE MODELING

CONTROL ISSUES

PARENT-CHILD INTERACTIONS POTENTIALS