Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness Scale: First Factor of the MMPI Revisited

Abstract

A 63-item form for men and 59-item form for women of the Manifest Anxiety-Defensiveness ( MAD) scale resulted from three separate item analyses performed on a 243-item composite scale obtained by pooling 10 scales purported to reflect anxiety and defense. A factor analysis of these 11 scales yielded two clearly identifiable factors, with the MAD scale defining the first factor. The MAD scale was shown to possess very high reliability and several studies considering normal and psychiatric samples indicated satisfactory validity. Substantive and stylistic interpretations of the MAD scale were discussed in terms of the first factor of the MMPI. It was concluded that the MAD scale best reflects a bipolar dimension of anxiety and defense.