Scores for MMPI and MMPI-A tests rose significantly between 1938 and 1989

In work conducted independently of Jean Twenge and her colleagues, psychologist Cassandra Newsom and her colleagues analyzed MMPI and MMPI-A scores collected from adolescents age fourteen to sixteen between 1948 and 1989. Their results were comparable to Twenge’s, and their article includes tables showing how the adolescents responded to specific questionnaire items in 1948 and in 1989—years when large normative samples were tested. Here, for illustration, are the results for five items that were among those showing the largest changes:

“I wake up fresh and rested most mornings.” 

1948: 74.6% 

1989: 31.3% 

“I work under a great deal of tension.” 

1948: 16.2% 

1989: 41.6% 

“Life is a strain for me much of the time.” 

1948: 9.5% 

1989: 35.0% 

“I have certainly had more than my share of things to worry about.” 

1948: 22.6% 

1989: 55.2% 

“I am afraid of losing my mind.” 

1948: 4.1% 

1989: 23.4%

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References

• Gray, Peter. (2013). Free to Learn Chapter 1. What Have We Done to Childhood? (p. 34). New York, NY: Basic Books.

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Type:🔴 Tags: Politics / Education / Psychiatry Status:☀️