Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- 2 Introduction and Overview

History First published in 1943 Designed for routine diagnostic assessments Empirical criterion-keying approach 724 Minnesota “normals” and 221 psychiatric patients 504 statements Originally 8 clinical scales plus validity scales MF and Si added later (items increased to 566)

History (cont.) Revised version is the MMPI-2 (1989) inadequate original standardization sample objectionable items, concerns about item content not broad enough to assess certain characteristics like suicide and drug abuse Normative sample (MMPI-2) 2600 U.S. residents aged (census derived) Separate forms for adolescents and adults

History (cont.) Most frequently used personality test in the US for adults and adolescents The most researched personality test (over 12,000 articles, translated into 150 languages)

MMPI-2/MMPI-A 567 true/false items Administration time is approximately 1 to 1.5 hours Must be interpreted by qualified professionals For use with individuals 18 years and older Original 10 clinical/personality scales and original 3 validity scales and added 4 validity measures.

Sample Test Items I wake up fresh & rested most mornings I think I would like the work of a librarian I am easily awakened by noise I like to read newspaper articles on crime My hands and feet are usually warm enough My daily life is full of things that keep me interested I am about as able to work as I ever was I am sure I get a raw deal from life

Sample Test Items There seems to be a lump in my throat much of the time A person should try to understand his dreams and be guided by or take warning from them I enjoy detective or mystery stories I work under a great deal of tension I have diarrhea once a month or more Once in a while I think of things too bad to talk about

Administration and Scoring Administered individually or in groups not a “take home” test computerized version available Administration time is approximately 1 to 1.5 hours Scored by hand or computer Must be interpreted by qualified professionals For use with individuals 18 years and older Can break test session up into shorter segments MMPI-2 for 18-year-olds who are in college, working or living independently

Administration and Scoring (cont.) If only standard scales are required - administer first 370 items many supplementary scales are not available unless you give all 567 items If hand scoring use scoring key appropriate to individual’s gender Use the K correction for this class Interpretation is configural in nature and not dependent on any one scale

Multicultural Issues and the MMPI-2 African Americans tend to score higher on scales F, 8 and 9 Male Latinos scored higher on scale 5 than European American males mean difference of less than 5 T score points All mean differences among groups are less than 5 T score points and moderators variables appear to explain the variance in performance

Tips on instructions Augment the standard instructions with: Reason for testing and how results will be used Test is designed to determine if someone is presenting themselves in an overly positive or negative manner so it is best to be as honest as possible Some questions may seem unusual because the test is designed to assess individuals with a wide range of personality styles and symptoms If an item does not apply to an individual, indicate with a true or false response and try not to leave any questions blank.

Validity Scales ? Scale (Cannot say) number of items left unanswered If 30 or more items are left unanswered the protocol is invalid F scale (Infrequency) 66 items atypical or deviant response style endorsed by less than 10% of the population accompanied by high scores on clinical scales general indicator of pathology or “faking bad.”

F scale (cont.) No exact cutoff for suspecting an invalid profile T scores of are common among prison, inpatient populations Extreme elevations indicate invalid profile 100 or higher More liberal cutoff for adolescents on MMPI-A

Validity Scales (cont.) Lie (L) Scale 15 items extent to which client is “faking good” or describing self in an overly positive manner Uneducated, lower SES will score higher Average number of endorsed items is 3 T Scores of 65 or above are suspect and indicate profile should not be interpreted High scores may lead to lower scores on clinical scales

Validity Scales (cont) K scale(30 items) More subtle and sophisticated index of “faking good” or “faking bad” T scores above 65 or 70 are higher than expected Higher scores indicative of ego defensiveness and guardedness Persons from lower SES and educational backgrounds score somewhat lower on K Persons of higher intelligence and psychological sophistication may score high on K and low on L K scores are inversely related to Scales 8,7 and 0 K correction is added to five of the clinical scales

Validity scales (cont.) Variable Response Inconsistency Scale (VRIN) An additional validity indicator developed for MMPI-2 Measures tendency to respond inconsistently to MMPI-2 items 47 pairs of items with similar or opposite content In general, raw score greater than 13 (T>80) indicates inconsistent responding Useful when examined along with F scale True Response Inconsistency Scale (TRIN ) To identify an all true (acquiescence) or all false (non acquiescence) response style 20 pairs of items that are opposite in content Raw scores range from 0 to 23 Higher TRIN (T> 80 in true direction) tendency to give true responses indiscriminately lower TRIN (T > 80 in false direction) tendency to give false responses indiscriminately

Clinical Scales Scale 1. Hypochondriasis (Hs) high concern with illness and disease complain about a variety of physical problems and attempt to manipulate/ control others with complaints Scale 2. Depression (D) High scorers report feelings of depression, sadness, feeling blue, unhappiness, hopelessness about future Display behaviors like lack of energy, anhedonia, crying, psychomotor retardation

Clinical Scales Scale 3. Hysteria (Hy) To identify patients who have hysterical reactions to stress Higher scores = exaggeration of denial, somatization, dissociation, immaturity, naïvete, low levels of insight Scale 4. Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) Measure of rebelliousness Difficulty incorporating values and standards of society, problems with authority May engage in asocial or antisocial acts

Clinical Scales Scale 5. Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) Originally developed to identify homosexual males High scores for men - lack of stereotypic masculine interests, aesthetic and artistic interests, participate in child-rearing, housekeeping activities High scores for women are uncommon and usually indicative of rejection of traditional female role Scale 6. Paranoia (Pa) Designed to identify patients judges to have paranoid symptoms like feelings of persecution, grandiose self- concepts, suspiciousness, excessive sensitivity

Clinical Scales Scale 7. Psychasthenia (Pt) Similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder Thinking characterized by excessive doubts, compulsions, obsessions and unreasonable fears Scale 8. Schizophrenia (Sc) Possibility of a thought disorder (T=75-90) Confusion, disorganization, disorientation, unusual thoughts, attitudes, Delusions, hallucinations may be present

Clinical Scales Scale 9. Hypomania (Ma) Designed to identify individuals experiencing hypomanic or elevated mood, accelerated speech and motor activity, irritability, flight of ideas and brief periods of depression Scale 0. Social Introversion (Si) High scorers are socially introverted, insecure and uncomfortable in social situations Shy, reserved, timid Prefer to be alone and have few friends

Validity Scales Cannot say (?) scale Lie (L) scale F (Infrequency) scale F b (Back F) scale K (defensiveness) scale