The relationship between MMPI scores and training center achievement of migrant and seasonal farmworker families

Abstract

An investigation was made of the relationship between the achievement, designated as success or failure; of MSFA participant families and their MMPI scores obtained during basic orienta..tion procedures. Subjects were twenty-eight families enrolled at the MSFA Training Center in vocational and educational classes for an average of 4.9 months.

For each family it was determined that both husband and wife had a valid MMPI profile. Husband and wife profiles were paired for each family and the family was considered to have scored high if either spouse scored 70 or above on a given scale. If official MSFA records indicated that the family completed training and at least one spouse remained employed for.three months after placement, the family was defined as a success. A family who dropped ou:t of training before comp~etion or in which neither spouse remained employed for thr~e months was defined as a failure.

A chi square analysis revealed no significant relationships between Training Center achievement and scores on any of the ten MMPI clinical scales. Therefore, it cannot be said that there is an association between MMPI scores and Training Center achievement. Another finding of this study was that families classified as migrants are significantly less likely to be successful than are families classified as seasonal farmworkers. A need was perceived for further research investigating the differences between migrants and seasonal farmworkers and for further development and testing of paired spouse MMPI profiles as an approach to measuring family characteristics.