Exploring the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-3 in a transgender and gender diverse sample.

Comparisons of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals' mental health functioning with that of cisgender individuals rely almost exclusively on screening measures. The limited research with TGD individuals and omnibus assessment measures has primarily used previous iterations of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPIs). This study sought to examine the psychometric functioning of the MMPI-3 with a TGD community sample (n = 97) and compare mean scores across TGD and cisgender subsamples. We expected MMPI-3 substantive scale reliability to be comparable across all samples and subsamples. Individual MMPI-3 scales were expected to demonstrate appropriate convergent and discriminant validity with relevant criterion measures in the TGD sample. Results generally supported MMPI-3 scale score reliability and validity with TGD individuals. Next, three sets of mean score comparisons were conducted across all MMPI-3 substantive scales: (a) TGD individuals not currently in mental health treatment and the MMPI-3 normative sample, (b) TGD individuals not currently in mental health treatment and TGD individuals currently in mental health treatment, and (c) TGD individuals currently in mental health treatment and an outpatient mental health sample. Fewer differences were found between TGD individuals in our sample who were not currently in mental health treatment and the MMPI-3 normative sample compared to previous work. This initial study indicates that MMPI-3 scales largely have appropriate psychometric properties when administered to a TGD sample and that the test may be helpful in identifying mental health needs of TGD individuals. Needs and directions for further research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scale scores in a transgender and gender diverse sample.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals are at increased risk of various forms of psychopathology. Little research has been conducted with broadband measures of psychopathology and TGD individuals. The present study sought to examine how TGD individuals scored on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scales. This included MMPI-2-RF profiles from 85 TGD individuals; 37 were in mental health treatment and 48 of which were not. This study involved three sets of pairwise comparisons on MMPI-2-RF substantive scales via t-tests: (a) TGD individuals not in treatment versus the MMPI-2-RF normative sample, (v) TGD individuals not in treatment versus TGD individuals in treatment, and (c) TGD individuals in treatment versus a large outpatient clinical sample. Compared to the MMPI-2-RF normative sample, TGD individuals not in treatment scored significantly higher on 31 of the MMPI-2-RF substantive scales. Compared to those TGD individuals not in treatment, those in treatment had significantly higher scores on several MMPI-2-RF scales, primarily those of internalizing psychopathology. In the final comparison between TGD individuals in treatment and an outpatient clinical sample, the TGD individuals had some significantly higher and significantly lower scores on MMPI-2-RF substantive scales. Implications regarding minority stress and the current findings are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Which Domain of the PSY-5 Is Most Relevant to Substance Use?

Substance use has generally been related to lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness, but has evidenced relationships with other personality trait domains as well, including impulsivity. This study was conducted to determine which trait domain of personality is most related to substance use from the perspective of the Personality Psychopathology Five model (Harkness & McNulty, 1994 ). Archival data were used from 2 clinical settings: 1 outpatient community mental health center and 1 inpatient Veteran's Affairs hospital. The outpatient sample was mostly female (58.9%), White (78.7%), and had a mean age of 33.01 (SD = 10.26). The inpatient sample was entirely male, predominantly White (91.5%), and had a mean age of 48.03 (SD = 13.88). Correlations were conducted to identify the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form Personality Psychopathology Five scales (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008 ; Harkness et al., 2013 ) that were significantly related to variables measuring substance use. Subsequent regression analyses revealed that Disconstraint was the only significant predictor in the majority (89%) of analyses. In the event Disconstraint was not the only significant predictor, it continued to exhibit the largest unique predictive impact in the regression models. These results suggest that Disconstraint is the Personality Psychopathology-Five dimension most relevant to substance use.

Validity of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ­ 2 ­ Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scores as a function of gender, ethnicity, and age of bariatric surgery candidates.

BACKGROUND: Presurgical psychological screening is used to identify factors that may impact postoperative adherence and surgical outcomes in bariatric surgery candidates. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) findings have demonstrated utility for this task. OBJECTIVES: To explore whether there are clinically meaningful gender, ethnicity, or age differences in presurgical MMPI-2-RF scores and the validity of these scores in bariatric surgery candidates. METHODS: The sample was composed of 872 men and 2337 women. Ethnicity/race groups included 2,204 Caucasian, 744 African American, and 96 Hispanic individuals. A sample of 165 were not included in the ethnicity/race analyses because they were of another descent. Ages groups included 18-35 year olds (n = 454), 36-49 year olds (n = 1154), 50-64 year olds, (n = 1246), and 65 years old or older (n = 355). Validity data, obtained via a retrospective chart review, were available for a subset patients (n = 1,268) who were similarly distributed. Step-down hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to assess for differential validity. RESULTS: Bariatric surgery candidates produced comparable MMPI-2-RF scores in all subsamples, indicating that the test norms generalize across demographic groups. Validity findings were also generally comparable, indicating that MMPI-2-RF scores have the same interpretive implications in demographically diverse subgroups of bariatric surgery candidates. CONCLUSIONS: The MMPI-2-RF can assist in presurgical psychological screening of demographically diverse bariatric surgery candidates.

Viewing the MMPI-2-RF structure through the Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) lens.

Ben-Porath and Tellegen (2008) recommend organizing MMPI-2-RF scale interpretive information around 3 broad topics, emotional/internalizing dysfunction, thought dysfunction, and externalizing/behavioral dysfunction, and 3 additional topics labeled somatic complaints, interpersonal functioning, and interests. That organization is based primarily on structural analyses of the Restructured Clinical (RC) scales. This study reviewed the MMPI-2-RF's scale structure when the Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales are included. Principal axis factor analyses with oblique rotation were conducted on the Restructured Clinical, PSY-5, and Special Problem (SP) scales in 2 samples, by gender. One sample was an outpatient community health center, the other a large, metropolitan inpatient psychiatric facility. The 6-factor solution evidenced each of the PSY-5 constructs plus a general somatic concerns factor. Implications of this solution in comparison to the 3-factor organizing structure recommended by Ben-Porath and Tellegen are discussed.

The MMPI-2-RF Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5-RF) scales: development and validity research.

This article describes the development, internal psychometric, and external validation studies on scales designed to measure the Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) from MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) items. Diverse and comprehensive data sets, representing various clinical and nonclinical populations, were classified into development and validation research samples. Item selection, retention, and exclusion procedures are detailed. The final set of PSY-5-RF scales contain 104 items, with no item overlap between scales (same as the original MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales), and no item overlap with the Demoralization scale. Internal consistency estimates are comparable to the longer MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales. Appropriate convergent and discriminant validity findings utilizing various self-report, collateral rating, and record review data are reported and discussed. A particular emphasis is offered for the unique aspects of the PSY-5 model: psychoticism and disconstraint. The findings are connected to the broader PSY-5 literature and the recommended review of systems (Harkness, Reynolds, & Lilienfeld, this issue) presented in this series of articles.

The Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5): recent constructive replication and assessment literature review.

The Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5; Harkness & McNulty, 1994) is a model of individual differences relevant to adaptive functioning in both clinical and non-clinical populations. In this article, we review the development of the PSY-5 model (Harkness, 1992; Harkness & McNulty, 1994) and discuss the ways in which the PSY-5 model is related to and distinct from other 5-factor models. Using different methods and measures, the dimensions of the PSY-5 model have been constructively replicated (Lykken, 1968) by Tackett, Silberschmidt, Krueger, and Sponheim (2008) and by Watson, Clark, and Chmielewski (2008), and dimensions congruent with the PSY-5 have even been suggested for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; Krueger et al., 2011). PSY-5 Scales can be scored from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher et al., 2001), the MMPI-Adolescent version (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992), and the Restructured Form of the MMPI-2 (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008). Because the largest body of research exists for the MMPI-2-based scales, we focus our review of the literature on the MMPI-2-based PSY-5 scales (Harkness, McNulty, & Ben-Porath, 1995), but we briefly cover the small, but growing, body of MMPI-A and MMPI-2-RF PSY-5 scales research. We show that the PSY-5 research literature includes a wide variety of psychometric methodologies as well as diverse samples and clinical problems. An integrative summary reprises the theory behind each PSY-5 construct and links it to the reviewed literature. Advantages and limitations of MMPI-2-based PSY-5 scales are discussed.

Serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) polymorphisms are associated with emotional modulation of pain but not emotional modulation of spinal nociception.

The short allele of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) is associated with greater negative emotionality. Given that emotion modulates pain, short allele carriers (s-carriers) may also demonstrate altered pain modulation. The present study used a well-validated emotional picture-viewing paradigm to modulate pain and the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR, a measure of spinal nociception) in 144 healthy genotyped participants. As expected, pain/NFR responses were largest during unpleasant pictures and smallest during pleasant pictures. However, relative to l/l-carriers, s-carriers demonstrated greater pain inhibition during pleasant pictures and greater pain facilitation during unpleasant pictures. Neither emotional modulation of NFR nor NFR threshold was associated with 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms. Results also indicated that men who were s-carriers had a higher pain threshold and tolerance than other participants. Taken together, our results indicate 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms may influence pain modulation at the supraspinal (not spinal) level; however, the influence on pain sensitivity may be sex-specific.

Interpreting low Personality Psychopathology-Five Aggressiveness scores on the MMPI-2: graphical, robust, and resistant data analysis.

The Minnesota Mutiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)-based Personality Psychopathology-Five (PSY-5) scales provide an overview of personality individual differences. Several textbooks and a test report offer instruction on interpreting MMPI-2 PSY-5 scores. On the basis of an earlier item response theory article (S. V. Rouse, M. S. Finger, & J. N. Butcher, 1999), low scores on the PSY-5 Aggressiveness (AGGR) scale are not currently interpreted. Traditional statistical methods are supplemented with graphical, robust, and resistant methods in the study of 188 outpatient men and 287 outpatient women. With locally weighted regression smoothing, the AGGR scale appeared to bear approximately linear relationships to scales formed from therapist ratings of patients. Pearson correlations tested by t test for significance showed correspondence with robust bootstrapped tests. Low-cut subsamples of men and women at or below the 33rd normative percentile showed that resistant correlations with robust tests showed moderate convergence with traditional methods. Results clearly suggested that low AGGR scores on the PSY-5 should be interpreted as suggesting low aggressiveness and passive and submissive features. Resistant and robust analyses suggest that gradations of aggressiveness, even within a low AGGR score group, can be interpreted.

Elevation differences between MMPI-2 clinical and restructured clinical (RC) scales: frequency, origins, and interpretative implications.

The frequency, origin, and interpretative implications of elevation differences on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) clinical and restructured clinical (RC) scales were examined. Two large clinical samples consisting of 1,770 outpatients and 2,438 inpatients were used for this study. Three potential factors (Demoralization, subtle items, and K correction) were explored as to the extent to which they contributed to elevation differences between a clinical scale and its restructured counterpart. Results showed that differences in elevation between clinical and RC scales occurred between 10% and 35% of cases. Demoralization, subtle items, and K correction contributed substantially to elevation differences. Findings indicate that core descriptors of a clinical scale should be emphasized only when its corresponding RC scale is also elevated, whereas for Scales 4, 6, and 8, elevated scores on the RC scales are interpretable even when the corresponding clinical scales are not elevated.

Further evidence on the validity of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: addressing questions raised by Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, and Jordan and Nichols.

The reviews by Rogers, Sewell, Harrison, and Jordan (2006/this issue), and by Nichols (2006/this issue) offer markedly contrasting appraisals of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales introduced by Tellegen et al. (2003). The one common feature is that both reviews draw on the same atypical MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) data set for their empirical analyses, with results warranting critical scrutiny. Rogers et al.'s critique provides an evaluation of the RC Scales from the perspective of Jackson's (1970) method of test development. One significant issue in Rogers et al.'s review concerns social desirability, prompting us to clarify our own views on this topic. We also highlight and discuss problems associated with Rogers et al.'s use of the unrepresentative data set. Nichols's polemical critique neglects empirical and theoretical support for demoralization as a central construct and misconstrues as "construct drift" the purposeful process of developing the RC scales. Nichols's criticisms and proposals overlook requirements for assessing syndromes and for construct validation and even rudiments of scale development. Our reply incorporates evidence, including new findings, refuting his criticisms and confirming that demoralization is a pervasive MMPI dimension, that the RC Scales capture the major distinctive features of the original Clinical Scales, and that they generate correspondingly meaningful validity patterns.

Construct validity of the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment (Mt) Scale.

The construct validity of the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2) College Maladjustment (Mt) Scale was examined using 376 student clients at a university psychological clinic. A principal components analysis and correlations of Mt scale scores with clients' and therapists' ratings of symptoms and functioning showed that the Mt scale identifies the presence of maladjustment as defined in terms of depressive and anxious symptoms. There is no evidence to show that the scale is specific to college students or that it is sensitive to severe psychological disturbance. The Mt scale does not inform the clinician as to why a person is distressed. In addition, there is no evidence from this study to suggest the superiority of the Mt scale over other MMPI-2 maladjustment measures. Therapists should use the entire MMPI-2 profile, not just the Mt scale, to gain the most comprehensive and specific understanding of clients.

The construct validity of the Lees-Haley Fake Bad Scale. Does this scale measure somatic malingering and feigned emotional distress?

The Fake Bad Scale (FBS [Psychol. Rep. 68 (1991) 203]) was created from MMPI-2 items to assess faking of physical complaints among personal injury claimants. Little psychometric information is available on the measure. This study was conducted to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the FBS using MMPI-2 profiles from six settings: Psychiatric Inpatient (N=6731); Correctional Facility (N=2897); Chronic Pain Program (N=4408); General Medical (N=5080); Veteran's Administration Hospital Inpatient (N=901); and Personal Injury Litigation (N=157). Most correlations of the FBS and raw scores on the MMPI-2 were positive with correlations among the validity scales being lower than correlations among the clinical and content scales. The FBS was most strongly correlated with raw scores on Hs, D, Hy, HEA, and DEP. When the more conservative cutoff of 26 was used, the FBS classified 2.4-30.6% of individuals as malingerers. The highest malingering classification was for the women's personal injury sample (37.9%) while the lowest was among male prison inmates (2.3%). Compared to men, in most samples, almost twice as many women were classified as malingerers. The results indicate that the FBS is more likely to measure general maladjustment and somatic complaints rather than malingering. The rate of false positives produced by the scale is unacceptably high, especially in psychiatric settings. The scale is likely to classify an unacceptably large number of individuals who are experiencing genuine psychological distress as malingerers. It is recommended that the FBS not be used in clinical settings nor should it be used during disability evaluations to determine malingering.

On the usefulness of measures of normal personality for clinical assessment: evidence of the incremental validity of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory.

As a means of examining the incremental validity of a normal personality measure in the prediction of selected Axis I and II diagnoses, 1,342 inpatient substance abusers completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (MMPI-2) and were assessed with structured clinical interviews to determine diagnostic status. Results demonstrated that scores from the NEO-PI-R (a) were substantially related to the majority of diagnoses, accounting for between 8% and 26% of the variance in the diagnostic criteria; (b) explained an additional 3% to 8% of the variability beyond 28 selected MMPI-2 scale scores; (c) increased diagnostic classification an additional 7% to 23% beyond MMPI-2 scale scores; and (d) were significantly more useful when examined at the facet trait level than at the domain trait level. Implications for incorporating measures of normal personality into clinical assessment batteries are discussed.

Empirical correlates of common MMPI-2 two-point codes in male psychiatric inpatients.

Empirical correlates of common Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) 2-point codes were identified for a sample of 1,213 inpatient men. A comprehensive standardized review of the hospital record was undertaken, and clinically relevant demographic, diagnostic, and behavioral information was extracted from intake summaries obtained prior to administration of the MMPI-2. Nonmutually exclusive psychiatric diagnoses found in the sample included substance abuse or dependence, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar affective disorder post-traumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders as well as personality disorders. Subsamples consisting of the five most frequently obtained well-defined 2-point code types were selected, and empirical correlates of each code type were then identified and described. Remarkable consistency was found between the empirical correlates of the code types obtained in this study and the correlates of the same code types described by other investigators 40 years ago.

MMPI-2 validity scale characteristics in a correctional sample.

The current study investigated the proportion of content-nonresponsive and content-responsive faking Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) protocols in a state corrections sample. Participants were 51,486 inmates who completed the MMPI-2 at the time they entered the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction system. Overall, approximately 79% of the study participants produced valid profiles. Of the entire study sample, 11.3% produced content-nonresponsive profiles, and 9.4% produced content-responsive faking profiles. African Americans produced a higher proportion of content-nonresponsive profiles than Caucasians, and women were slightly more likely than men to produce content-responsive faking profiles. Differences in level of education between African Americans and Caucasians did not account for the disparity in content-nonresponsive profiles. Implications for current practice and future research are discussed.

The appropriateness of the MMPI-2 K correction.

The extent to which the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) K scale serves as a suppressor variable that influences the validity of clinical scale scores was examined using 274 male and 425 female outpatients from a community mental health center and 105 male and 247 female clients from a university psychological clinic. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed with MMPI-2 K scale scores and clinical scale scores as predictors and therapist ratings as criteria. In most cases, the K scale did not act as a suppressor Optimal K weights were different from the traditional K corrections. In most instances, there were no significant differences between correlations of therapist ratings with K-corrected and uncorrected clinical scale scores. The results do not support the K scale as a suppressor variable in these settings, although additional research is needed in settings where higher levels of defensiveness are common.

Assessing general maladjustment with the MMPI-2.

The validities of 7 MMPI-2 (Butcher, Graham, Ben-Porath, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 2001) measures of general maladjustment were compared using a composite criterion measure based on self-reported symptom severity and clinicians' ratings of symptom severity and level of functioning. Participants were 274 male and 425 female clients at a community mental health center and 105 male and 247 female clients at a university psychological clinic. All MMPI-2 measures were significantly related to the composite criterion measure for both male and female clients in both settings. The mean score on 8 clinical scales (M8) consistently was the best indicator of maladjustment. Although other MMPI-2 measures sometimes added significantly to the variance accounted for in the criterion measure, increments were small and probably not clinically meaningful. However, M8 added significantly and meaningfully to each of the other MMPI-2 measures in predicting maladjustment. Implications for using the MMPI-2 to assess general maladjustment in outpatient mental health settings are discussed.