Mmpi Correlates of Religiousness in Late Adolescent College Students

Ss in this study were 166 college students (99 females; 67 males) at a small denominational university in the Southwest. Groups were defined on the basis of sex and of church membership and self-classification as religious and nonreligious; dependent variables were the standard Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) clinical scale scores, three validity scales and R (repression), A (anxiety), and ES (ego strength). In the comparisons between religious males and nonreligious males, religious males were found to be significantly less depressed, less schizophrenic, and less psychopathic deviant than nonreligious males. Only one difference emerged between the female groups: nonreligious females were found to score higher on the MMPI ego strength (ES) scale than the religious females.