Code-type congruence between MMPI and MMPI-2: separating fact from artifact

Comparing MMPI and MMPI-2 Profiles: Replication and Integration

Respondents in two settings, a Veterans Administration mental hygiene clinic (n = 94) and a university counseling center (n = 73), completed the test items from the MMPI and MMPI-2 in a single administration, allowing for between-form comparisons that were minimally affected by temporal instability. Concordance rates for high-point codes were 54% and 60%, respectively. Concordance rates for two-point profile codes, regardless of elevation, were 53% and 60%, respectively. Among nonconcordant cases, the proportions of cases with the same high point were 49% and 59%, respectively. In these two samples, 37% and 23%, respectively, of the cases had elevated profiles that were "well-defined." Among these well-defined profiles, concordance rates for high-point codes were 60% and 94%, respectively. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies of profile concordance between the MMPI and MMPI-2. Implications for clinical practice are suggested.

Assessment of Borderline Personality Disorder Using the MMPI-2 and the Personality Assessment Inventory

The usefulness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the. Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in the classification of patients diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) was investigated. Twenty-two female inpatients diagnosed as having BPD and 22 female student control participants participated in the study. Those who scored 70 or above on the Borderline Features ( BOR) scale of the PAI were classified as BPD. For the MMPI-2, participants with profile configurations of 8-4-2, 8-2-4, 8-4-7, or 8-2-7 were classified as BPD. Eighty-two percent of the patients and 77% of the students were classified correctly using the PAI, whereas 9% of the patients and 95% of the students were classified correctly based on the MMPI-2. The discriminant function for the selected scales of the PAI classified 8G% of the participants correctly, and the discriminant function for the selected scales of the MMPI-2 classified 84% of the participants correctly. This suggests that both tests include items that discriminate between the two groups. Overall, the classification of participants based on the BOR scale of the PAI was more accurate than the classification of participants using the profile configurations of the MMPI-2. Implications for the assessment of BPD are discussed.

The Equivalence of the MMPI and MMPI-2

Since the MMPI-2 was developed, it has been assumed that the new version is comparable to the MMPI. This study explored the comparability of the MMPI and MMPI-2 by examining the similarities between their respective T-score means, profile configurations, score distributions, and rank-order correlations on the standard 3 validity and 10 clinical scales. Eighty-four undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of four groups in a test-retest (4-month interval) counterbalanced design–MMPI/MMPI, MMPI/MMPI-2, MMPI-2/MMPI, or MMPI-2/MMPI-2. In this college sample, MMPI-2 mean scores tended to be lower than respective MMPI counterpart scales, which is consistent with previous research. There were notable similarities between the MMPI and the MMPI-2 in terms of profile characteristics, score distributions, and rank ordering of scales. Using these criteria, the equivalency of the two forms was generally supported and further equivalency issues are discussed.

Code-type comparability of the MMPI and MMPI-2: analysis of recent findings and criticisms

The introduction of the MMPI-2 has stimulated studies of its comparability with the MMPI. Graham, Timbrook, Ben-Porath, and Butcher (1991) consider the congruence between MMPI-2 and MMPI code types substantial, but Dahlstrom (1992) has questioned their appraisal, criticizing their use of "well-defined" code types. Our own analysis supports Graham and colleagues' (1991) conclusions and provides reasons for favoring narrow code types (such as well- defined code types) over nonrestrictive ones. We also offer a brief historical review of MMPI code typology as background for our recommendation that future MMPI-2 research not be limited to studies of code-type correlates.

MMPI--2 Code-Type Congruence of Injured Workers

In this study, the authors examined the stability of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) code types in a sample of 94 injured workers with a mean test-retest interval of 21.3 months (SD = 14.1). Congruence rates for undefined code types were 34% for high-point codes, 22% for 2-point codes, and 22% for 3-point codes. The data provide tentative evidence suggesting that defined code types are more stable than undefined code types. Cohen's kappa, a statistic that controls for chance agreement, was calculated for each clinical scale for both 2-point and 3-point code types. Only 2 of the 20 kappa coefficients were not significant at the p = .05 level.

MMPI-2 Profile Code Types and Measurement Error

We studied simulated MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) code type stability and change expected with measurement error for 12 MMPI-2 well-defined mean code type profiles. Profile scores for the 2 scales defining the code type were systematically varied to represent target code type profiles at 9 different levels of T-score profile definition. We randomly generated samples of 50 simulated, estimated true score profiles at each level of profile definition for each code type around the estimated true scores for each scale at each level of profile definition. Two sets of simulated profiles were developed. The first simulation was based on the reported means, test-retest reliabilities, and the standard errors of measurement for the MMPI-2 normative group. The second simulation was based on the means, standard deviations, and estimated retest stability for a clinical group of psychiatric patients. We calculated frequencies and percentages of simulated profiles with the highest estimated true scores on the same 2 scales as the original code type profile. Percentages of simulated profiles with the same 2 highest scales as the original code type profiles increased from 27% to 37% for the 3-point level of definition, 37% to 49% for the 5-point definition, 46% to 61% for 7-point definition, 63% to 78% for 10-point definition, 78% to 89% for 13-point definition, 83% to 93% for 15-point definition, and greater than 90% for profile definition greater than 15 points.

Development of a short form for the MMPI-2 based on scale elevation congruence

The length of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is often considered a barrier to its use, leading to the development of short forms. Two methods of abbreviating the revised MMPI have now been developed. One agrees poorly with the long form in terms of which scales are elevated. The second ensures perfect congruence in which scales are elevated but requires computer administration. This article describes the development of a short form representing a compromise approach. The short form was derived using 800 psychiatric inpatients and cross-validated with samples of 658 inpatients and 266 outpatients. It is briefer than the computerized short form but does not achieve perfect congruence with the full inventory. It is longer than earlier noncomputerized short forms but demonstrates greater scale elevation congruence with the full inventory and allows estimates of more scales. The short form offers a reasonable alternative when the full inventory is impractical.

A comparison of MMPI-2 high-point coding strategies

High-point coding refers to the popular practice of classifying Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Hathaway & McKinley, 1983) profiles based on which clinical scales are the most elevated. A previous review of high-point code studies (McGrath & Ingersoll, 1999a) noted marked discrepancies across studies in the rules used to define high-point codes. This study was conducted to evaluate the costs and benefits of different strategies for high-point coding. The impact of 4 rules for high-point coding on effect sizes and group sizes was evaluated. The 4 rules included requiring a minimum elevation, excluding potentially invalid protocols, restricting coding to well-defined codes, and replacing the lower scale in infrequently occurring codes with the next most elevated scale. The evidence supported the clinical utility of requiring a minimum elevation for code scales. The results were more equivocal concerning the value of well-defined coding and for not replacing the lower scale in infrequent codes. Results were surprisingly negative concerning the utility of excluding potentially invalid protocols, suggesting that guidelines developed in situations in which there is a clear motivation to distort results may not generalize to other settings.

Use of the MMPI-2 in the treatment of offenders

The MMPI-2 is among the most frequently relied upon inventories for personality assessment. The test is utilized across a variety of nonforensic settings (e.g., psychiatric inpatient and outpatient) as an aid in formulating treatment plans, assessing treatment progress, and measuring treatment outcome. The MMPI-2 can also be utilized in forensic settings in a manner similar to its use in other settings, such as identifying treatment goals and evaluating treatment efficacy. Various MMPI-2 scales can identify an individual's treatment needs, reveal potential obstacles to treatment, and serve as a measure of treatment efficacy. Such information can be very helpful to the clinician in formulating or modifying a course of treatment for offenders. This article provides an overview of the use of the MMPI-2 in treatment planning and describes the relation between scores on the validity, clinical, and various supplementary scales and treatment-related issues.

Comparability of MMPI-2 scales and profiles over time

This study investigated Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) scale and profile comparablilty for MMPI-2 profiles completed on 2 separate occasions by mental health patients receiving treatment at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (n = 114). Patients were predominantly men (96.5%), with an average age of 44.08 and an average of 12.39 years of education at the time of initial testing. MMPI-2 tests were completed on 2 separate occasions as a routine part of treatment with a mean interval between test administrations of 688 days. Findings were analyzed for the complete sample and for 3 subsamples with different test-retest intervals. MMPI-2 scale test-retest correlation coefficients for the entire sample ranged from .48 to .69 for the Basic scales, .49 to .80 for the Supplementary scales, and .56 to .78 for the Content scales with scale high-point agreement = 38.60%, high 2-point agreement = 16.67%, and high 3-point agreement = 19.30%. High-point agreement for subsets of participants with well-defined high points, 2-points and 3-points was 41.07%, 27.50%, and 25.93% respectively. Pearson r correlation coefficients for T scores across the Basic scales for pairs of profiles averaged .78, suggesting similarity of profile shape across testing occasions. MMPI-2 profiles were also examined in relation to Skinner and Jackson's 3 modal MMPI profile types.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and chronic pain: a conceptual analysis of a long-standing but complicated relationship

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Disorder (MMPI) and its successor, the MMPI-2, have a long-standing tradition in the assessment of patients with chronic pain. With the introduction of more narrowly defined and factor-analyzed pain inventories, however, the utility of the MMPI-2 for pain assessment has been brought into question. In this review, the relevant literature is carefully scrutinized from a conceptual and historical perspective. It is concluded that many of the (recent) criticisms are largely ungrounded. Rather than the test itself being at fault or of little utility in the field of pain assessment, it has simply been applied inappropriately (i.e., for determination of pain etiology or underlying personality structure "explaining" the chronic pain). In conclusion, it is suggested that the application of the MMPI-2 in the assessment of patients with chronic pain should correspond more closely to the original aims and psychometric properties of the tool--that is, for screening and the generation of hypotheses regarding comorbid psychopathology and personality features having the potential to complicate the treatment process. Guidelines for clinical interpretation of MMPI-2 profiles with regard to chronic pain are provided.

Psychological needs associated with MMPI-2 scales in a nonclinical sample

The psychological needs derived from the Adjective Check List (ACL; Gough & Heilbrun, 1983b) that are associated with MMPI-2 scales were studied among 198 nonclinical participants. Both the Depression (D) and Psychasthenia (Pt) scales were negatively correlated with needs for achievement and dominance and positively correlated with needs for abasement and succorance (dependence). The Schizophrenia (Sc) scale was negatively associated with need for affiliation and positively associated with need for abasement. The Social Introversion (Si) scale was associated negatively with needs for achievement, dominance, affiliation, heterosexuality, exhibition, and autonomy and associated positively with needs for succorance, abasement, and deference, reflecting good construct validity for Scale Si. MMPI-2 Masculinity-Femininity (Mf) did not correlate with the ACL Masculinity and Femininity scales, suggesting poor concurrent validity for Mf.

Psychiatric inpatients and the MMPI-2: providing benchmarks

The second edition of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2: Butcher & Williams, 1992) has become the standard instrument for assessing individuals in a variety of settings, including inpatient psychiatric facilities (Piotrowski, 1997). This study reports on the responding of 516 adult psychiatric inpatients on an acute-care inpatient unit who were administered the MMPI-2 after they were referred for diagnostic testing. Base-rate responding, two-point code frequencies, and gender- and race-based responding are reported. Differences in gender and race responding are noted to coincide with differences in psychiatric diagnosis for those groups. The importance of having base rates for an inpatient sample is discussed. In particular, it is noted that the high levels of endorsement that are characteristic of this population can be difficult to interpret without access to inpatient comparison profiles.

MMPI-2 Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) and prediction of treatment outcome for patients with chronic back pain

This study investigated the utility of the MMPI-2-based Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales (Harkness, McNulty, & Ben-Porath, 1995) in the outcome prediction of behaviorally oriented chronic-pain treatment. The PSY-5 is a dimensional descriptive system for personality and its disorders. The sample consisted of 120 consecutive chronic-back-pain patients who followed a 4-week multimodal treatment program aimed at achieving a normal pattern of functioning, including return to regular work. The psychometric properties of the PSY-5 scales (Aggressiveness, Psychoticism, Constraint, Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism, and Positive Emotionality/Extraversion) were highly similar to the data reported by Harkness et al. (1995) and also corresponded to the characteristics of chronic-pain patients. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses provided support for the utility of the PSY-5 Positive Emotionality/Extraversion scale for the prediction of emotionally oriented outcome. We conclude that the PSY-5 model of personality psychopathology provides a solid basis for the more systematic study of the complex relation between personality characteristics and multidimensional treatment.

MMPI code types and the fantasy prone personality

We administered the MMPI and the Inventory of Childhood Memories and Imagining (ICMI) to 1,200 college students. Application of diagnostic efficiency statistics for the ability of differing ICMI cutoff scores to identify college students producing a schizophrenia spectrum MMPI code type revealed that scores greater than or equal to 29 on the ICMI had good positive predictive power. Scores less than 29 on the ICMI had very good negative predictive power. ICMI scores were also used to form a group of fantasizers (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). Fantasizers were much more likely to produce MMPI codes associated with a vulnerability to schizophrenia (70%) than were controls (3.33%). Although most controls(70%) produced non-elevated MMPI scores, 66.67% of the fantasizers produced three or more elevated clinical scales on the MMPI. The modal MMPI profile for the fantasizers was an 8-9 code, indicating that fantasizers appear at heightened risk for eccentric thinking and a Cluster A or B personality organization.

MMPI-2 with Mexican psychiatric inpatients: basic and content scales

This paper presents the results of a study of the Mexican Spanish version of the MMPI-2 with a clinical sample of 233 patients who were diagnosed as having psychological disturbances or personality disorders, according to DSM-III R criteria. Inpatient scores were obtained from four psychiatric hospitals, located in Mexico City. The scores of the patients were compared with those of Mexican college students, which is the largest Mexican normative sample collected to date, consisting of 813 men and 1,137 women. Results of this study show that the MMPI-2 can accurately differentiate between normal and non-normal groups in Mexican populations and demonstrate that the inventory maintains its construct validity in this clinical sample.

The changing face of MMPI practice

To assess the status of changing MMPI practice a questionnaire was sent by mail to 368 licensed psychologists in Kansas with a 40% response rate (N = 147). The modal respondent had 14.2 yr. of experience. Virtually all reported that they currently used the MMPI: 37.0% reported using the MMPI, 80.1% MMPI-2, and 40.4% MMPI-A. A majority (67.6%) used computerized scoring with local scoring used by three out of four respondents. Computerized administration was used by 15.9% and computerized interpretation by 43.8%. Most used both High Point Codes (91%) and Elevation (84.7%) for interpretations. Two of three respondents thought that the High Point Codes and Elevations for the MMPI and MMPI-2 are related. The results of this survey of current practice suggest that many practitioners may be making false assumptions about the nature of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A and their relationships with the original MMPI. If the MMPI is to retain its hard-fought presence as a diagnostic, forensic, and selection tool, we must pay greater attention to these issues.

Selected MMPI-2 scales' ability to predict premature termination and outcome from psychotherapy

Research examining the MMPI's ability to predict premature termination has yielded discrepant findings. This may be due, in part, to previous operational definitions of premature termination and extensive analysis on inadequately sized samples. This study addressed both methodological issues. This study examined MMPI-2 clinical Scales 2, 4, and 7 and content scales DEP, ASP, ANX, and TRT as predictors of premature termination and psychotherapeutic outcome in 86 adult clients seeking services at a university-based clinic. Premature termination was operationalized as therapists' ratings of clients' readiness for termination. Psychotherapeutic outcome was operationalized as therapists' ratings of the clients' progress in therapy goals, improvement in global psychopathology, improvement in current functioning, and global improvement. None of MMPI-2 scales predicted readiness for termination. However, significant associations were found between specific MMPI-2 scales and three of the four outcome ratings, with the content scales emerging as better predictors. The implications of these findings are discussed to help guide future research in this area.

Current Status of MMPI--2 Research: A Methodologic Overview

MMPI-2 research since 1990 has been reviewed to assess whether Butcher and Tellegen's (1978) concerns and suggestions about MMPI research were being followed. Guidelines are provided for when the MMPI-2 is appropriate to administer, how to describe the sample used, assessing validity of the profile, what scores to analyze, and how to report the results. Suggestions also are presented for research within several current areas of debate in the MMPI-2: codetype comparability between the MMPI and MMPI-2, incremental validity of new or existing scales, obvious and subtle subscales, emphasis on item content, development of new scales, and correcting profiles for specific medical and physical conditions.

Four-month test-retest reliability of the MMPI-2 with normal male clergy

This investigation examined the test-retest coefficients and absolute score changes with the Basic, Supplementary, and Content scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Participants were 111 active male clergy who were not receiving mental health services at the time of their participation and who completed the MMPI-2 on two occasions separated by 4 months. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance for the three groups of scales revealed nonsignificant changes in mean T scores. In general, the test-retest coefficients obtained were similar to those reported in the MMPI-2 manual by Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, and Kaemmer (1989) and by Spiro, Butcher, Levenson, Aldwin, and Bosse (1993). Increases or decreases of 3 to 6 T-score points were observed for the majority of the scales, and instances in which T-score changes exceeded 10 points were observed on every scale. In sum, the test-retest reliability of the majority of MMPI-2 scales, as represented in this nonclinical sample, appears acceptable and compares favorably with the original MMPI.

Evaluating the Similarity of MMPI-2 and MMPI Profiles: Reply to Dahlstrom and Humphrey

We review issues that have arisen in exchanges with Dahlstrom and Humphrey (Dahlstrom & Humphrey, 1996; Humphrey & Dahlstrom, 1995) about assessing the comparability of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the MMPI. We point out the limitations of Q correlations (without contending that D(2) is "the only legitimate function of profile comparability," as Dahlstrom and Humphrey, 1996, p. 350, claim we do), and explain why Dahlstrom and Humphrey's (1996) new Q-correlational results, correctly interpreted, are consistent with our own previous observations and conclusions. We stress again the importance of both overall profile elevation and profile "definition" in making code-type assignments. Nonrestrictive code types ignore these profile characteristics, and their use needlessly lowers MMPI-2/MMPI code-type congruences and raises the incidence of profile misinterpretations. Our recommendation of well-defined MMPI-2 code types stands.

MMPI-2 Clinical Correlates for Ten Common Codes

A number of researchers have called for the establishment of a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) correlate literature that is based directly on investigations of the revised MMPI. The purpose of this study was to examine clinical correlates found for 9 commonly occurring 2-point codes, each of which contained a minimum of 20 patients, and for 82 profiles that were within-normal-limit (WNL) in a sample of 289 female and 308 male psychiatric inpatients. Major findings indicated that descriptors identified for MMPI-2 based codes were generally similar to the established literature for corresponding codes derived from the original MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1967). In addition, correlates identified for the WNL profile suggest that these patients are less likely to exhibit more chronic symptomatology and to have psychological histories marked by less severe psychological disturbance than other inpatients. Overall, the results of this study represent an initial step in the creation of an MMPI-2 correlate literature.

How (Not) to Evaluate the Comparability of MMPI and MMPI-2 Profile Configurations: A Reply to Humphrey and Dahlstrom

Humphrey and Dahlstrom (1995) presented a study on the comparability of MMPI/MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) profiles in which they concluded that "the bases for clinical interpretation derived from the MMPI and MMPI-2 profiles were sufficiently at variance to require different conclusions" [sic] (p. 2). In this brief critique, we identify procedural and data-analytical deficiencies that invalidate Humphrey and Dahlstrom's argument. Their blanket recommendation based on this argument, namely, that clinicians routinely plot both MMPI and MMPI-2 profiles, is unwarranted.

The impact of changing from the MMPI to the MMPI-2 on profile configurations

Fifty-three individuals under court review at a forensic unit of a state hospital were administered both the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) and the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) within an interval of a few days. The test-retest stability of the raw scores from each administration was determined by computing Pearson product-moment correlations for both the individual scales in the profile and for the pattern of scores on the two instruments for each subject. The stability of the T-score patterns was analyzed by means of total codes of the pairs of profiles, tabulations of the two-point high-point combinations, and correlations of the T-score profiles of each subject on the two instruments. The raw scores from the two administrations were highly stable on retest. The patterns of the raw scores for each subject were also very stable. However, when the raw scores were transformed into T-scores on their respective norms, the patterning was often drastically different, indicating that the bases for clinical interpretation derived from the MMPI and the MMPI-2 profiles were sufficiently at variance to require different conclusions. Until the correlate base of the MMPI-2 is better established, it is recommended that two separate profiles be drawn, one from the original norms and the other from the restandardized norms, and that each be interpreted separately to determine their differences and similarities.

Comparison of MMPI-2 and MMPI clinical scales and high-point scores among methadone maintenance clients

Methadone client volunteers completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1967) and MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) on consecutive days. MMPI-2 T-scores were lower by a mean of 4.7 on the clinical scales; when 5 points were added to MMPI-2 T-scores the mean difference was 2.3. Rank order of subjects on scale T-scores was not significantly different between the two instruments. High-point similarity for clinically elevated profile pairs ranged from 61% to 92%, depending upon definition of similarity.

MMPI and MMPI-2 profile and code type congruence in a brain-injured sample

Examined the comparability of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in a sample of brain-injured patients. There were 53 patients (36 males, 17 females; M age = 27.25, SD = 11.45), the majority of whom had suffered a closed-head injury. The MMPI-2 and MMPI items were administered in the context of an extensive neuropsychological examination. Results revealed a lack of congruence between the MMPI and MMPI-2 when the entire profile was compared using profile analysis. Analyses of code types found congruence to be high for single point elevations but modest for 2-point code types. The degree of congruence appears related to the nature of analysis, and for clinical purposes, code-type interpretation may be most relevant. These results provide some support for the congruence of the MMPI and MMPI-2 for brain-injured patients, but particular caution should be exercised in the interpretation of 2-point code types.

Codetype agreement between MMPI-2 and estimated MMPI profiles in chemically dependent inpatients

The extent of codetype agreement between the revised version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) and estimated MMPI profiles was examined in a sample of 121 inpatients being treated for chemical dependence, primarily alcoholism. Rates of codetype agreement among the entire sample and various subsamples are comparable to those reported elsewhere derived for different samples and using different methods. Implications for MMPI-2 codetype interpretation are discussed.

Failed back surgeries and minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) profiles

MMPI profiles were evaluated for 105 prospective surgical patients who had previously undergone surgery or other procedures for treatment of back pain. Patients were classified into groups having undergone zero, one, two, three, or four or more previous surgeries. While all groups demonstrated a characteristicsomatogenic profile, none of the MMPI validity or clinical scales significantly differentiated the groups and there was no relationship between increased number of surgeries and MMPI scale characteristics. These results support the nonoptimistic prognostication of thesomatogenic MMPI profile for surgical intervention for back pain but show no clear relationship of MMPI profile characteristics to degree of experience of previously failed surgery.

The MMPI and MMPI-2 as predictors of psychiatric diagnosis in an outpatient sample

The MMPI and MMPI-2 were compared as predictors of psychiatric diagnosis in 100 male and 100 female outpatients who completed the test items in a single session. Test profiles and the clinical diagnosis were grouped into five categories (normal, neurotic, character disordered, psychotic, and other). The MMPI and MMPI-2 code types were in the same category in 75% of the cases. Both the MMPI and MMPI-2 had a 39% agreement rate with category of clinical diagnosis (p < .0001). Discriminant function analyses based on Scales L, F, K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 accounted for significant variance in diagnostic group, (p < .02), and two functions correctly classified 49% and 50% of the cases for the MMPI and MMPI-2, respectively. The rate of correct classification for normals was more than 70%. The rate of correct classification for psychotics was 55% for the MMPI and 30% for the MMPI-2. For both the MMPI and MMPI-2, it appears important not to rely on test findings alone as a basis for diagnostic decisions.

The clinical utility of the MMPI-2 in diagnosing unipolar depression among male alcoholics

The correspondence between Scale 2 elevations on the MMPI-2 and SCID-diagnosed unipolar depression (major depression and dysthymia) and alcohol-induced depression was evaluated among 106 consecutive male admissions to an inpatient alcohol treatment unit. Valid profiles were obtained from 87 subjects, 15% of whom were diagnosed with unipolar depression and another 4.5% with presumed alcohol-induced depression. The sensitivity of Scale 2 (the probability that a depressed subject would obtain an elevated score) ranged from .19 to .42. Positive predictive power (the probability that a subject who obtained an elevated score had a depressive disorder) ranged from .23 to .38. Neither Scale 2 alone nor Scale 2 paired in 2-point code types predicted the presence or absence of comorbid depressive disorders among male alcoholics.

Comparability of Two-Point High-Point Code Patterns From Original MMPI Norms to MMPI-2 Norms for the Restandardization Sample

Using records from the 1,138 males and 1,462 females in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) restandardization sample (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989), two-point high-point code patterns generated from the original norms were compared to the patterns that these subjects obtained from the new norms. Although some code patterns proved to be quite stable across both norms, code comparability was generally lower in this community-based sample than was true for the records from samples of psychiatric patients also reported in Butcher et al. (1989). The sources of differences between the original and the new norms were reviewed, and the implications for profile interpretation based on code patterns were pointed out. The differences arising from the use of the MMPI-2 norms are appreciable; they highlight the need for new empirical data on the correlates of coding patterns based on these norms.