Despite numerous theories of adolescent ego development, there is no objective measure of ego development or maturation targeted for the assessment of adolescents. The Immaturity (IMM) Scale developed for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent (MMPI-A) was designed to fill this void in adolescent assessment. The present study examined the concurrent validity of the IMM Scale based on sixty-six adolescents (13-18 years old) in an inpatient setting using four prominent measures of maturity, i.e., The Defining Issues Test (DIT), the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status - Second Revision (EOM-EIS-2), and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Revision (WISC-III), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R), and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R). Additionally, demographic profiles and staff ratings using the Devereux Adolescent Behavior Rating Scale (DABRS) were employed to examine the external correlates of the IMM Scale. Correlations, analysis of covariance, and a stepwise multiple regression were conducted to examine the relationship between the IMM Scale and the instruments listed above. The results of this study provide concurrent validity for the IMM Scale and support the construct validity of the IMM Scale as a measure of maturity. A number of descriptors for high and low scores on the IMM Scale are provided. This study does not support the use of the IMM Scale as a moderator variable in the MMPI-A Basic Scale interpretation.
","abstract_html":"<p>Despite numerous theories of adolescent ego development, there is no objective measure of ego development or maturation targeted for the assessment of adolescents. The Immaturity (IMM) Scale developed for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent (MMPI-A) was designed to fill this void in adolescent assessment. The present study examined the concurrent validity of the IMM Scale based on sixty-six adolescents (13-18 years old) in an inpatient setting using four prominent measures of maturity, i.e., The Defining Issues Test (DIT), the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status - Second Revision (EOM-EIS-2), and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Revision (WISC-III), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R), and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R). Additionally, demographic profiles and staff ratings using the Devereux Adolescent Behavior Rating Scale (DABRS) were employed to examine the external correlates of the IMM Scale. Correlations, analysis of covariance, and a stepwise multiple regression were conducted to examine the relationship between the IMM Scale and the instruments listed above. The results of this study provide concurrent validity for the IMM Scale and support the construct validity of the IMM Scale as a measure of maturity. A number of descriptors for high and low scores on the IMM Scale are provided. This study does not support the use of the IMM Scale as a moderator variable in the MMPI-A Basic Scale interpretation.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Imhof, Eric Albert"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Robert P. Archer","J. D. Ball","Robin J. Lewis","Elaine Justice","Alan Rountree"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1996,"date_issued":"1996-04-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1996-04-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:34:31Z","subjects":["Immaturity scale","MMPI","Clinical Psychology","Developmental Psychology","Mental and Social Health","Quantitative Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_etds/201","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Robert P. Archer","J. D. Ball","Robin J. Lewis","Elaine Justice","Alan Rountree"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Imhof, Eric Albert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-04-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Immaturity scale","MMPI","Clinical Psychology","Developmental Psychology","Mental and Social Health","Quantitative Psychology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
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"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Correlates of the MMPI-A Immaturity (IMM) Scale in an Adolescent Psychiatric Population"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Robert P. Archer","J. D. Ball","Robin J. Lewis","Elaine Justice","Alan Rountree"],"dc:creator":["Imhof, Eric Albert"],"dc:date.available":["2019-04-08T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Despite numerous theories of adolescent ego development, there is no objective measure of ego development or maturation targeted for the assessment of adolescents. The Immaturity (IMM) Scale developed for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent (MMPI-A) was designed to fill this void in adolescent assessment. The present study examined the concurrent validity of the IMM Scale based on sixty-six adolescents (13-18 years old) in an inpatient setting using four prominent measures of maturity, i.e., The Defining Issues Test (DIT), the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT), the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status - Second Revision (EOM-EIS-2), and the Wechsler Intelligence Scales including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Revision (WISC-III), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Revised (WISC-R), and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS-R). Additionally, demographic profiles and staff ratings using the Devereux Adolescent Behavior Rating Scale (DABRS) were employed to examine the external correlates of the IMM Scale. Correlations, analysis of covariance, and a stepwise multiple regression were conducted to examine the relationship between the IMM Scale and the instruments listed above. The results of this study provide concurrent validity for the IMM Scale and support the construct validity of the IMM Scale as a measure of maturity. A number of descriptors for high and low scores on the IMM Scale are provided. This study does not support the use of the IMM Scale as a moderator variable in the MMPI-A Basic Scale interpretation.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/psychology_etds/201"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
"],"dc:subject":["Immaturity scale","MMPI","Clinical Psychology","Developmental Psychology","Mental and Social Health","Quantitative Psychology"],"dc:title":["Correlates of the MMPI-A Immaturity (IMM) Scale in an Adolescent Psychiatric Population"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:34:31Z"}