Economical screening for emotional disturbance in epilepsy: Anticipating Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory profile elevations by means of the Washington psychosocial seizure inventory

Abstract This study examined the ability of the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI) to identify patients with elevated (abnormal) scores on scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). A sample of 407 adults with epilepsy who were administered both inventories was randomly divided into principal (n = 250) and cross-validation (n = 157) subsamples. Scores of 5 or more on the WPSI Emotional Adjustment Scale best identified the presence of one or more MMPI scale elevations, with 82% accuracy on cross-validation. Scores on the Emotional Adjustment Scale of 12 or more best identified the presence of two or more MMPI scale elevations, with 80% accuracy on cross-validation. High correlations were obtained between several WPSI and MMPI scales. This study suggests that the 132-item WPSI may be useful in screening for emotional disturbances in adults with epilepsy, and in determining when further emotional evaluation via clinical interview or additional testing may be warranted.