Clinical and Psychological Characteristics of Young Men with Military Adaptation Issues Referred for a Psychiatric Evaluation in South Korea: Latent Profile Analysis of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 and Temperament and Character Inventory

OBJECTIVE: To investigate clinical and psychological characteristics of young men referred for a psychiatric evaluation due to expected unsuitability for military service and identify their heterogeneous subgroups based on the profiles of MMPI-2 and TCI. METHODS: We conducted a latent profile analysis of 348 men using MMPI-2 and TCI and then a comparative analysis of four latent classes in relation to sociodemographic, clinical, and IQ variables. RESULTS: We identified four classes with distinct clinical and psychological features: Class 1 (nonclinical: n=68), Class 2 (internalized: n=129), Class 3 (externalized: n=60), Class 4 (confused: n=91). Class 1 showed no significant psychiatric symptoms and relatively adaptive temperament and characteristics. Class 2 showed relatively higher harm avoidance and introverted traits indicating vulnerability to internalizing disorder. Class 3 was related to higher novelty seeking, impulsivity, and bipolarity. Class 4 showed the most severe clinical symptoms including psychotic experiences with extremely unstable temperament and immature personality. In total, 50–70% participants reported clinically significant depression, anxiety, and suicidal idea. Participants showed lower processing speed index (M=85.9, SD=16.6) than the general population. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that clinical conceptualization and therapeutic intervention considering distinctive features of young men with adaptive problems related to military service are needed.