B-04: Latent Profile Analysis of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–3 in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Evaluations

Abstract

Objective: Little research has examined whether the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) can identify clinically meaningful subgroups among adults referred for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) evaluation. Latent profile analyses (LPAs) were estimated to identify distinct MMPI-3 response patterns in a diagnostically mixed clinical sample referred for ADHD with common psychiatric comorbidities. Method/Data Selection: 611 consecutive ADHD evaluations were reviewed. Cases with missing or invalid MMPI-3 data (n=105) and indeterminate ADHD diagnosis (n=1) were excluded, yielding a final sample of 505. LPA was estimated using the eight MMPI-3 Restructured Clinical (RC) scales as indicators. Models were estimated sequentially across four covariance structures. The three-step approach tested ADHD, major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety-related diagnoses as distal outcomes. Results/Data Synthesis: A four-class full-invariant model (Figure 1) demonstrated good classification accuracy (entropy=.868; OCCs=26.21–54.40). Profiles included: (1) low-symptoms (n=248; no elevated RCs); (2) hypomanic-activation (n=73; elevated RC9); (3) internalizing (n=133; elevated RCd, RC2, RC7); and (4) broadly elevated (n=51; elevated RCd, RC1, RC7, RC8, RC9). Profiles differed significantly in rates of ADHD and comorbid diagnoses (all ps<.05). Conclusions: MMPI-3 LPA identified four profiles in ADHD referrals, supporting substantial heterogeneity and potential utility for clarifying differential diagnosis and psychiatric comorbidity.