Abstract
Thirty swingers (16 females, 14 males) from a private metropolitan swinging club volunteered to take the MMPI. One half of the 30 had significant elevations on the clinical and/or validity scales, most frequently on the 9 scale (Hypomania). One third of the sample with normal MMPI scale elevations had significant elevations on validity scales that indicate defensiveness in responding. Analysis of a selected group of special scales of the MMPI indicated that a significant minority of the subjects 1) may be seriously emotionally disturbed, 2) may be substance abusers, or 3) may have serious sexual problems. The MMPI records suggest further that the absence of significantly elevated clinical scales among the normal subgroup may have been a function of defensiveness. On the other hand, most of the subgroup evidencing psychopathology possess ego resources sufficient to enable them to cope with emotional problems.
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A paper based primarily on the clinical scale analysis was read by the senior author at the meeting of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research, Charleston, SC, 1982. A paper based primarily on the special scale and critical item analyses was read by the junior author at the Eastern Regional meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, Philadelphia, PA, 1982. The authors are grateful for the cooperation of Dr. Robert L. McGinley in the collection of the data of this report. Address requests for reprints to: Eugene E. Levitt, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, 791 Union Drive, Indianapolis IN 46223.
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Duckworth, J., Levitt, E.E. Personality analysis of a swingers' club. J Fam Econ Iss 8, 35–45 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01435913
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01435913