MMPI-2 Predictors of Academic Performance

Abstract

This report describes relationships between MMPI-2 validity and clinical scale scores and four different measures of academic performance (high school GPA, cumulative college GPA, classroom attendance, standardized course grade). A total of 435 MMPI-2 profiles were provided by college students enrolled in various undergraduate psychology courses. Elevations on the F, Pd, Sc, Ma, and Si scales were associated with academic performance difficulties. The number of elevated MMPI-2 scales was found to be significantly related to high school and college GPA. The profile mean elevation was also correlated significantly with high school and college GPA. Efforts were also made to quantify the severity of risk posed to academic performance by particular MMPI-2 attributes. Only about 7.5% of participants reported a cumulative college GPA that was less than or equal to 2.5, but this risk was tripled (22.6%) among participants with F scale elevations (T> 59). About 15.4% of the total sample attended class less than 60% of the time, while only about half (7.4%) of those generating low Pd scores showed equal levels of absenteeism. Simple MMPI-2 interpretive guidelines are provided for the identification of students at elevated risk for academic difficulty. The practical and theoretical implications of these results were discussed within the context of a broader literature involving the use of psychological inventories to identify cognitive and academic functioning deficits.