Studies suggest that motivational structure and personality play important roles in goal-seeking behaviour. We studied the relationship among motivational structure indices (its derived factor scores) and the MMPI-2 validity and clinical scales. Participants were alcohol abusers (187 males; mean of age = 40.37) who completed a demographic information sheet, the MMPI-2 and the MSQ. The results showed that resilience and adaptive motivational structure were inverse predictors of substance abuse. The results were as follows. First, participants’ response styles on the MMPI-2 were related to their responses on the MSQ, such that a defensive response style was associated with more socially desirable indices and adaptive motivational structure. This suggests that higher scores on the adaptive motivation are associated with a faking-good response style. Second, there was generally a lack of relationship between the MMPI-2 one-code clinical types and the MSQ indices and factor scores. The only exception was that participants with elevated scores on the MMPI-2 depression scale reported less Active Role and Commitment in goal-seeking than those with elevated scores on the Psychopathic Deviant and Hypochondriasis scales. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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