The Basic Personality Inventory (BPI)

Strengths & Weaknesses

As with all self-report inventories, there is still the chance to exercise deception while taking the test.

References & Resources

The BPI claims to be more sensitive to the tendency for people to respond in both "fake good" and "fake bad" ways (I was unable to find proof of this however)

Basic Personality Inventory: BPI. (n.d.). ACER Psychology Shop. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from https://shop.psych.acer.edu.au/acer-shop/group/BAP/33

Validity

Reliability

Often compared to the MMPI, the BPI is a must faster alternative

Basic Personality Inventory. (n.d.). Basic Personality Inventory. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.sigmaassessmentsystems.com/assessments/bpi.asp

As I think about my own practice and future in the counseling world, I probably would not use this particular inventory, as it pertains to a population older than the one I intend on working with. If it weren't for that key detail however, I would absolutely utilize it. It seems like a great tool and very thorough, despite being significantly shorter than the MMPI, which it's often compared to.

When compared with other self-report measures designed to assess the same dimensions of psychopathy, the BPI has shown sizable correlations.

Applications & Administrations

Jackson Ph. D, D. N. (1996, January 1). BPI: The Basic Personality Inventory. Resources. Retrieved April 20, 2014, from http://www.sigmaassessmentsystems.com/resources/presentations/bpi.pdf

Personal Reflections

For example: In a study of 235 substance abusers, BPI Hypochondriasis correlated .73 with MMPI Hypochondriasis; .62 for BPI Thinking Disorder and MMPI Schizophrenia; .55 for BPI Depression and MMPI Depression; and .58 for BPI Social-Introversion and MMPI Social Introversion

In a large psychiatric sample N=812, KR20 coefficients ranged between .66 and .86, with a median of .76.

In a sample with N=379, the values ranged from .61 to .83, with a median of .70.

Test-retest reliabilities were also acceptable, with a gap of 1 month before the retest-2 studies came a combined range of .62 to .87, with a median of .77

Overall, these values demonstrate stable reliabilities for the BPI scale scores

So I have to start by saying that I wish I was able to find more detailed information about this inventory. While I found all the the statistical and general facts, I was left wanting to know more about how each of the 12 scales were scored. I did some additional research and found a helpful powerpoint which goes into more depth, but felt it was not appropriate to use it, as I could not find where the information originated from. Anyway, I'll include a link to it here, so that you can view it for yourself.

http://drpietrzak.com/ppoints/bpi.ppt

Norms

The accompanying manual for the assessment shows seperate norms for adults and adolescents.

Adult: 1419

Adolescent: 2210

The BPI can be purchased from Sigma Assessment Systems, INC at SigmaTesting.com

Scoring is done by hand, using the guides found on the internet through SigmaTesting, or by mailing or faxing the test back to:

SIGMA Assessment Systems

P.O. Box 610757, Port Huron, Michigan, USA 48061-0757

The BPI is used as an assessment of psychopathology in both psychiatric and counseling practices.

It can also be used as an assessment in juvenille and adult correctional facilities, and court referrals.

In order to be purchased and administered, an individual must have:

a) A Doctorate Degree in psychology or a similar discipline, such as counseling, education, human resources, social work, etc.);

OR

b) The Direct Supervision of a qualified psychologist or a qualified professional in a related discipline.

The scale names were chosen specifically, with the hopes of avoiding potentially inaccurate diagnostic labels

Quick Facts

The BPI measures 12 distinct psychological traits:

* Hypochondriasis

* Depression

* Denial

* Interpersonal Problems

* Alienation

* Persecutory Ideas

* Anxiety

* Thinking Disorder

* Impulse Expression

* Social Introversion

* Self Depreciation

* Deviation

* Composed of 240 True/False questions

* 11 substansive clinical scales and 1 critical item scale

* Administration time: 35 Minutes

* Available in English, French, Spanish

Background

* Requires a reading level equivalent to Grade 5

Overview

The BPI was created by Douglas N. Jackson, Ph.D.

Jackson was the former chair of the American Psychological Association (APA)'s Committe on Psychological Tests and Assessments.

He was also the APA's former president for their Division of Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics; and Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology

The BPI is a multiphasic personality assessment used to identify sources of maladjustment as well as personal strengths

It is used with both clinical and normal populations

It can be used for both adolescents and adults, and takes far less time than most other personality measures

The Basic Personality Inventory (BPI)

by Celeste Berstene