MMPI-2

Brief History of MMPI?

• The instrument was "deigned to assess a number of major patterns of personality and emotional disorders" ” (J. J. Kramer & J. C. Conoley, 1992)
• It was first published in 1943 by psychologist Starke Hathaway and neurologist J. C. McKinley.
• MMPI-2 was developed after the revision in 1989, and became one of the most popular instruments.
• In 1992, MMPI-Adolescent was developed for patients aged between 14 and 18
• In 2008, MMPI-RF, which is a shorter and improved, became available
• Fall 2020, MMPI-3 will become available

Critique

Reliability

According to MMPI-2 Manual,

• the internal consistency coefficients ranging from .34 to .87 for the clinical scales and from .72 to .86 for additional content scales”.
• The test-retest coefficients range from .56 to .93 for the clinical scale and from .77 to .91 for the additional content scales.

(Schroeder & Martin, 2018).

Format

• MMPI is available for purchase through the Pearson website
• It can be administered via paper and pencil or computer
• MMPI-2 has 567 true-false self-report items.
• The instrument was originally developed in English, but it is also available in Spanish, Hmong, and French for Canada.
• It requires the test taker to have at least 6th grade of English reading level
• The test costs between $37 and $55 for each administration, which can be expensive for organizations or individuals

Administration

• The assessment instrument itself can be administered by a trained clerk, secretary, or technician
• But the test interpretation has to be performed by a clinician who meets test distribution Level C, which is the highest according to Pearson.
• Paper an pencil version takes 60-90 minutes
• Computer based takes shorter period

• The cost is fairly expensive, which limits the accessbility

• The required English proficiency might put non-native speakers at disadvantage

Critique

Clinical Scales

• Harris- Lingoes subscales
• Content Scales
• examples: anxiety, fears, obssessiveness, etc.
• Content Component scales
• examples: depression, health concerns, etc.
• Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) Scales

Additional Content scales

Population the instrument can be used for

• MMPI-2 and MMPI-RF are applicable for individuals who are 18 years and older, with at least 6th grade of reading level
• MMPI-A is used for adolescents who are between the age of 14 and 18

• Each clinical scale receives a separate score. Higher score indicates that the individual is more likely to have pathlogical symptoms in the designated category

• Each scale can be interpreted individually or be combined together as code types

The rationale is to place a number of code types together where the test taker has received the highest T-score.

For instance, if the test taker is on the higher end of the Scale 4 and Scale 3, then the two-point code type could be 34 or 43

Note: scale 5 and scale 0 should not be included when developing a code type to the test taker because those are personality traitors which do not signify any potential psychopathological symptoms.

From my perspective, the interpretation of the test results is helpful for clinicians for two reasons:

• Firstly, MMPI covers broad range of possible mental illness, personality type, and behavioral type, which helps the clinician to detect any possible diagnosis
• Secondly, the interpretation process of the profile, which includes examining each of the clinical scale on MMPI-2, gives the clinician a comprehensive review of the client.

Although there are advanatges to MMPI, due to the complexity, clinicians need to complete proper training so they can interpret the results. It requires financial and time committment.