Psychological testing and assessment are similar to medical tests as they are administered when the patient experiences some form of psychological disturbance. The tests measure a client’s behavior for diagnosis and guiding the treatment. Psychologists usually administer the tests for several reasons. A person experiencing mental health problems, personal relationship problems, or problems with work or school can help the psychologist to explore the issues further. One of the most popular psychological tests is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personal Inventory (MMPI) test developed in 1937 to examine various mental health problems. A second version of the test, MMPI-2, was published and has grown to become one of the most popular psychometric tests used to measure psychopathology. This paper reviews the MMPI-2 test by analyzing its general information, description of the test, technical analysis, practical analysis, and a summary and critique.
General Information
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was initiallity developed by Starke Hathaway and Charnley McKinley at the University of Minnesota in the year 1937. The second revised version was developed by Auke Tellegen, Grant Dahlstrom, James Butcher, and John Graham. The authors were involved a committee with the task of standardizing the test. The University of Minnesota Press published the MMPI and licensed the publication of the MMPI-2 to The Psychological Corporation to standardize the tests. The MMPI-2 was the second edition of the test and was published in the year 1989. The second version was created to improve the test while maintaining the original MMPI. The test costs approximately $26.20, and it comes with booklets, manuals, record forms, and answer sheets. There are booklets available to conduct the test offline, but one can also conduct it online through a qualified physician.
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Test Description
Test Content
The MMPI-2 test was an improvement from the previous versions as it involved a reduction in the number of questions and an increase in the number of clinical scales. The content of the test involves nine validity sakes and tests for mental health problems. The theoretical foundations of the test are based on the Kraepelinian descriptive nosology that divides major endogenous psychoses (Mulay et al., 2019). The test thus involves a division of various psychoses based on different scales used to identify the diagnostic categories. The MMPI test was also one of the firsts developed using empirical keying, making it more effective. The test was also developed using the broadband measures and psychopathological symptoms developed during its time period.
Purpose of the Test
The data from the MMPI-2 tests are useful in diagnosing and treating mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. It can also be used to analyze general personality characteristics like psychopathy, anger, somatization, hypochondriasis, poor ego strength, and addiction potential. The test can be applied in instances where there are doubts about the exact problem of the patient. For instance, the test can be used to detect conscious malingering in patients. The MMPI-2 can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. When used to assess the mental health of patients, the tests can be used along with other tests to make a more accurate diagnosis. However, the test has been used in fields other than clinical psychology. For instance, the test has been used in legal cases for custody disputes and criminal defense. The test can also be used to assess the psychological stability of workers, especially those that work in ‘high-risk’ professionals like law enforcement and airline pilots. The use of the test in the job qualification process has caused some controversy as it can create some form of discrimination due to one’s disabilities.
Test Structure
The MMPI-2 test is administered to individuals between 18 and 80 years old. It consists of 567 true and false questions, with the administration of the test takes between 60 and 90 minutes. The test has a shorter revised version, the MMPI-2-RF, that involves 338 true-false questions but takes a shorter time to complete of approximately 35 to 50 minutes. The test has ten clinical scales for different psychological conditions. The clinical scales assessed include hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, masculinity-femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia schizophrenia, hypomania, and social introversion. The test also includes various validity scales that assess the validity of the person’s response to the test and their approach or attitude to the test. The four validity scales include the Lie Scale, F Scale, Back F scale, and K scale (Brown & Sellbom, 2019). The lie scale identifies individuals that are deliberately avoiding to answer in an honest and frank manner, while the F scale identifies unusual or atypical ways of answering some of the questions.
Test Administration
The administration of the test will involve choosing the original MMPI-2 with 567 questions or the shorter version MMPI2-RF with 338 questions. The longer version can take approximately 90 minutes to complete, while the shorter version should take approximately 45 minutes. The tests are administered through the use of booklets. However, there is a version online where one can take the test by themselves or in a group setting. The test is copyrighted by the University of Minnesota, and one should ensure that the administration and scoring of the test follow the official guidelines. Clinicians should pay when administrating and utilizing the test. The administration, scoring, and interpreting of the MMPI-2 must be undertaken by professionals like psychiatrists or clinical psychologists with training on interpreting the scores. The recommendation for using the test is that it should be used along with other assessment tools. The test can be undertaken by hand or using a computer.
Test Scoring
After the MMPI-2 test is taken and recorded, a score and analysis report is usually created by a psychologist. The scores are usually in the form of T-scores with values between 30 and 120. The normal range of the scores should vary between 50 to 65. Test results above 65 or results below 50 are usually clinically significant and should be interpreted by a psychologist. When scores of a specific clinical scale are elevated, the psychologist should know that the patient is struggling with a specific mental health problem. For instance, a high score on depression is an indication that the patient shows several symptoms of depression. The results are interpreted along with other tests to confirm and deny the hypothesis that the MMPI-2 may suggest.
Standard clinical profiles have been developed when interpreting the MMPI-2 results referred to as “codetypes” that emerge where there are two-three clinical scales that are higher than other scales. The elevation of the scales shows a combination of problems, and the physician will know the specific range of mental health problems that the patient struggles with. The result is that the physical can integrate information from multiple mental health problems at once. For instance, a 2-3 codetype indicates both scale two and scale three are elevated, indicating significant depression, lower activity levels, and feelings of being helpless. It can also be possible that the patient does not have a codetype but only has one elevated clinical scale score. For instance, a “spike 4” and would be a sign that a person shows impulsive behavior, poor relationships with the authority, rebellion (Williams et al., 2017). People with little or no personality or psychopathology concerns will not reach any particular codetype levels. On the other hand, people with mental health or personality problems are likely to show one or multiple codetypes. The analysis of the scores also depends on the individual being assessed. For instance, it is expected to have a higher energy-level or hypomania score among teenagers and not adults.
Technical Evaluation
Standardization/Normative Sample
The MMPI-2 was based on a normative sample of 2,600. Out of the total population, there were 1,138 males and 1,462 females and were 18 years or older. The tests were taken from multiple geographically diverse states to be reflective of the United States Census (Williams et al., 2017). The test included American minorities in the sample to ensure that it would be culturally relevant to the entire population. The test does not include different norms for different settings.
Validity and Reliability
The MMPI-2 has shown a high degree of validity and reliability. The validity of the test is based on the fact that it can accurately capture mental health symptoms. The test has also been applied for several decades and has stood the test of time. The reliability of the test was recorded to have a range from .50 and 80 (Kasula et al., 2020). The first scale, hypochondriasis, having the highest reliability. The findings were based on thousands of adult subjects from the college population, psychiatric population, people experiencing drug problems, and prison populations. According to Vacha-Haase et al. (2001), the test showed reliability coefficients that ranged from .16 to .93 across multiple studies. The F scale showed the highest level of variability, as was expected. A regression analysis of the test further revealed that the age of the participants was one of the best predictors of the reliability coefficient. The tests can thus be repeated on a large population to show similar results.
Practical Evaluation
The administration of the test will take approximately one to two hours to complete depending on the reading level of the participant. The test has been designed to be easy to read, write, and complete as it involves a sixth-grade reading level. The test has a high degree of clarity and eases to read the instructions. Anyone with a basic ability to read and write can undertake the test. The test has ease of administration that can be done through a booklet or a computer online. The longer version can take approximately 90 minutes to administer and approximately 45 minutes to score. The shorter version can be undertaken in approximately 45 minutes and should take approximately 25 minutes to score. The shorter version is usually applied in circumstances where there are limitations like time pressure and illness. However, the scores from the shorter version may not be as extensive as the scores available in the longer 567-item version.
Summary Evaluation and Critique
The MMPI-2 test was identified as a valid and reliable measure of mental illness and various psychological and personality traits. The advantage of the test is its validity scales or lie scales that are used to assess lying or faking answers. The scales make it difficult to fake the MMPI-2 results. The test is well-researched, and it is based on empirical data and not clinical assumptions. One of the drawbacks of using the test is that it entails lots of questions that may be time-consuming to complete. The test is also limited as it can only be undertaken, scored, and interpreted by a licensed and experienced psychiatrist or psychologist. The test can thus be regarded as a complex measure for diagnostic investigation and may not be frequently used. The recommendation for using the test is for mental health professionals that want to diagnose mental health disorders and conditions. Further validation of the test can be undertaken on the specific mental health conditions it is used to test.
References
Brown, T. A., & Sellbom, M. (2019). The utility of the MMPI–2–RF Validity Scales in detecting underreporting. Journal of personality assessment ,102(1), 66-74.
Kasula, K., Tarescavage, A. M., Ben-Porath, Y., Burchett, D., Menton, W., & Sellbom, M. (2020). The TriPM and MMPI-2-RF Tri-Scales: a Direct Construct Validity Comparison. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment , 42 (4), 666-676.
Mulay, A. L., Waugh, M. H., Finn, T. M., Jenna, E., Gilmore, M. A., Whitley, M. L., ... & Streiner, D. L. (2019). MMPI-2 Personality Disorder Spectra Scales. Archives of Assessment Psychology , 9 (1), 3-41.
Williams, C. L., & Lally, S. J. (2017). MMPI-2, MMPI-2-RF, and MMPI-A administrations (2007–2014): Any evidence of a “new standard?”. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice , 48 (4), 267.
