Relationship of MMPI-2 anxiety and defensiveness to neuropsychological test performance and psychotropic medication use

Research has suggested an adverse effect of anxiety on cognitive functioning, and high defensive individuals may have poorer control of their anxiety than low defensive individuals. Thus, these individuals may be more likely to have a prescription for psychotropic medication. The purpose of this study was to further delineate the effects of anxiety and defensiveness on neuropsychological test performance and psychotropic medication use. Participants were 143 US veterans referred for neuropsychological evaluation. Four groups were established based on median splits on MMPI-2 approximations of anxiety and defensiveness. Anxiety and defensiveness were unrelated to neuropsychological test performance. Defensive high anxious individuals were more likely than truly high anxious individuals to have anxiolytic and narcotic prescriptions. There was also a trend toward truly low anxious participants being more likely to be prescribed anxiolytics than repressor participants. Thus, defensiveness appears to attenuate the experience of anxiety in individuals who are low, but not high, in self-reported anxiety. (Original abstract)