Title |
Birth cohort increases in psychopathology among young Americans, 1938–2007: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of the MMPI
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Published in |
Clinical Psychology Review, November 2009
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DOI | 10.1016/j.cpr.2009.10.005 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Jean M. Twenge, Brittany Gentile, C. Nathan DeWall, Debbie Ma, Katharine Lacefield, David R. Schurtz |
Abstract |
Two cross-temporal meta-analyses find large generational increases in psychopathology among American college students (N=63,706) between 1938 and 2007 on the MMPI and MMPI-2 and high school students (N=13,870) between 1951 and 2002 on the MMPI-A. The current generation of young people scores about a standard deviation higher (average d=1.05) on the clinical scales, including Pd (Psychopathic Deviation), Pa (Paranoia), Ma (Hypomania), and D (Depression). Five times as many now score above common cutoffs for psychopathology, including up to 40% on Ma. The birth cohort effects are still large and significant after controlling for the L and K validity scales, suggesting that the changes are not caused by response bias. The results best fit a model citing cultural shifts toward extrinsic goals, such as materialism and status and away from intrinsic goals, such as community, meaning in life, and affiliation. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 22% |
United Kingdom | 3 | 13% |
Denmark | 1 | 4% |
Canada | 1 | 4% |
Unknown | 13 | 57% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 19 | 83% |
Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 9% |
Scientists | 2 | 9% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 6 | 1% |
United Kingdom | 3 | <1% |
Canada | 2 | <1% |
Australia | 1 | <1% |
Germany | 1 | <1% |
Brazil | 1 | <1% |
Japan | 1 | <1% |
Sweden | 1 | <1% |
Unknown | 429 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 70 | 16% |
Student > Master | 65 | 15% |
Student > Bachelor | 55 | 12% |
Researcher | 47 | 11% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 43 | 10% |
Other | 93 | 21% |
Unknown | 72 | 16% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Psychology | 169 | 38% |
Medicine and Dentistry | 44 | 10% |
Social Sciences | 44 | 10% |
Business, Management and Accounting | 15 | 3% |
Neuroscience | 13 | 3% |
Other | 69 | 16% |
Unknown | 91 | 20% |