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Journal of Pediatric Psychology 13(2) pp. 237-245, 1988
© 1988 Society of Pediatric Psychology

research-article

Using the Personality Inventory for Children to Identify Children With Somatoform Disorders: MMPI Findings Revisited1

Carol T. Pritchard2, J. D. Ball, James Culbert and Douglas Faust

Virginia Consortium for Professional Psychology, and Virginia Beach Public Schools, Virginia Consortium for Professional Psychology, and Eastern Virginia Medical School, Virgina Commanwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Virginia Consortium for Professional Psychology, and Eastern Virginia Medical School

2A11 correspondence should be sent to Carol Pritchard, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 205 Business Park Drive, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462

Somatic complaints in the absence of organic findings generally have led diagnosticians to suspect underlying psychological conflict. Efforts to locate positive criteria for Somatoform Disorders have included evaluations of personality tests used for this purpose. The childhood literature lags far behind work with adults which has centered mainly around the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The current study sought to distinguish four groups of children using the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC): (a) normals, (b) somatoform disorders, (c) neurological disorders, and (d) chronic medical disorders. A MANOVA and discriminant function analysis revealed significant group differences across the PIC scales. However, children with somatoform disorders were indistinguishable from those with neurological disorders or chronic medical problems. These results extend the adult findings with the MMPI to child populations and raise further questions about the utility of personality tests for separating organic from psychologically based medical symptoms.

Key words: childhood somatoform; personality; PIC; testing; conversion disorder.


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[Abstract] [PDF]


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