MMPI-2 Normative Sample Research Articles

Examining the "traditional background hypothesis" for the MMPI-2-RF L-r scores in a Muslim faith-based sample.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 32(10) of Psychological Assessment (see record 2020-72093-001). In the article "Examining the 'Traditional Background Hypothesis' for the MMPI-2-RF L-r Scores in a Muslim Faith-Based Sample," by R. Michael Bagby, Karin A. Onno, Ardeshir Mortezaei, and Martin Sellbom (Psychological Assessment, 2020, Vol. 32, No. 10, pp. 991-995, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/pas0000941), the word "not" was missing in the abstract from the text "(b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were not included or measured independently." The correct sentence should have read as follows: "(b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were not included or measured independently." All versions of this article have been corrected.] The traditional background hypothesis (TBH) is a long-standing belief associated with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) L scale; a validity scale, which appears on every version of the family of MMPI instruments including the soon-to-be released MMPI-3. The L scale was originally designed to assess whether test respondents presented themselves in an unrealistically favorable light. Both researchers and clinicians noted, however, that those from traditional Christian faith-based groups produced elevated L-scale scores. A recent meta-analysis supported this observation, reporting an average L-scale elevation 0.50 SD greater than the MMPI-2 normative sample compared to samples of those with presumptively strong Christian-Judeo faith. Some limitations of this meta-analysis are that (a) the samples used in it included those undergoing an evaluative assessment, which could elevate L-scale scores independent of strength of faith belief, and (b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were included or measured independently. Our primary goal in this study was to examine the TBH addressing these limitations with a sample of those who self-identified as believers in the Muslim faith (N = 267), the examination of which expands the scope beyond those of the Christian-Judeo faith. Consistent with previous results, the mean L-r (MMPI/MMPI-2 L scale counterpart on the MMPI-2-Restructured Form) was 56.41 T. Higher L-r scale scores were associated with increasing strength in the Muslim faith, and although increasing L-r scores were primarily associated with impression management, increasing Muslim-based faith values had a nontrivial influence on L-r scores and especially in the moderate score range of this scale. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Correction to Bagby et al. (2020).

Reports an error in "Examining the "traditional background hypothesis" for the MMPI-2-RF L-r scores in a Muslim faith-based sample" by R. Michael Bagby, Karin A. Onno, Ardeshir Mortezaei and Martin Sellbom (Psychological Assessment, Advanced Online Publication, Jul 27, 2020, np). In the article "Examining the 'Traditional Background Hypothesis' for the MMPI-2-RF L-r Scores in a Muslim Faith-Based Sample," by R. Michael Bagby, Karin A. Onno, Ardeshir Mortezaei, and Martin Sellbom (Psychological Assessment, 2020, Vol. 32, No. 10, pp. 991-995, http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1037/pas0000941), the word "not" was missing in the abstract from the text "(b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were included or measured independently." The correct sentence should have read as follows: "(b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were not included or measured independently." All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2020-54974-001.) The traditional background hypothesis (TBH) is a long-standing belief associated with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) L scale; a validity scale, which appears on every version of the family of MMPI instruments including the soon-to-be released MMPI-3. The L scale was originally designed to assess whether test respondents presented themselves in an unrealistically favorable light. Both researchers and clinicians noted, however, that those from traditional Christian faith-based groups produced elevated L-scale scores. A recent meta-analysis supported this observation, reporting an average L-scale elevation 0.50 SD greater than the MMPI-2 normative sample compared to samples of those with presumptively strong Christian-Judeo faith. Some limitations of this meta-analysis are that (a) the samples used in it included those undergoing an evaluative assessment, which could elevate L-scale scores independent of strength of faith belief, and (b) direct assessments of strength of faith or positive impression management were included or measured independently. Our primary goal in this study was to examine the TBH addressing these limitations with a sample of those who self-identified as believers in the Muslim faith (N = 267), the examination of which expands the scope beyond those of the Christian-Judeo faith. Consistent with previous results, the mean L-r (MMPI/MMPI-2 L scale counterpart on the MMPI-2-Restructured Form) was 56.41 T. Higher L-r scale scores were associated with increasing strength in the Muslim faith, and although increasing L-r scores were primarily associated with impression management, increasing Muslim-based faith values had a nontrivial influence on L-r scores and especially in the moderate score range of this scale. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Does the Neurological Damage from a Traumatic Brain Injury Invalidate Measures of Psychopathology Such as the MMPI-2?

The Gass correction model removes 14 items from the MMPI-2 which refer to neurological damage when assessing a person suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Previous analysis supported ongoing inclusion of the five correction items from MMPI-2 Hs scale in individuals who suffered a TBI. This study investigates the remaining nine correction model items on the Hy and Sc scales. A sample of patients with a TBI (n = 242), and the MMPI-2 normative sample (n = 2,600). This is a cross-sectional study testing measurement invariance of two MMPI-2 scales (Hy and Sc) between the TBI and normative samples. Factor models for each scale were defined and assessed across multiple samples. The Hy scale generated a four-factor model (CFI range .913-.935, RMSEA range .025-.027). The Sc scale generated a five-factor model (CFI range .911-.962, RMSEA range .013-.018). Both models met the criteria of partial measurement invariance. Sensitivity and specificity analysis supported retaining all correction items when assessing persons with a TBI. These results suggest continued inclusion of all 14 Gass correction model items when assessing a person with a TBI.

Toward Normative MMPI-2 Profiles for Evangelical Missionaries in Candidate and Clinical Settings: Examining Differences by Setting, Generation, and Marital Status

In order to replicate and expand the work of Dimos (2013), we compiled the largest samples to date of MMPI-2 standard scale profiles among evangelical Christian missionary candidates (n =1227; 530 men and 696 women) and outpatients (n = 1431; 643 men and 788 women). Results indicated our candidate scale scores were remarkably similar to those reported by Dimos and together these datasets appear to converge on a reliable normative profile for this population. We also present a potential outpatient normative profile for our clinical sample. In distinguishing our samples from the MMPI-2 normative sample, we found that validity scale differences were most salient for the missionary candidates and several clinical scales provided the clearest contrasts for missionary outpatients. Potential profile shifts among successive generations were evident in the form of somewhat less defensiveness and, specific to outpatients, slightly more sensitivity and feelings of grievance. Finally, while the profiles of married and single candidates were essentially similar, among the clinical sample married missionaries appeared slightly more guarded and less distressed than their single counterparts.

Scoring correction for MMPI-2 Hs scale with patients experiencing a traumatic brain injury: a test of measurement invariance.

It has been suggested that MMPI-2 scoring requires removal of some items when assessing patients after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Gass (1991. MMPI-2 interpretation and closed head injury: A correction factor. Psychological assessment, 3, 27-31) proposed a correction procedure in line with the hypothesis that MMPI-2 endorsement may be affected by symptoms of TBI. This study assessed the validity of the Gass correction procedure. A sample of patients with a TBI (n = 242), and a random subset of the MMPI-2 normative sample (n = 1,786). The correction procedure implies a failure of measurement invariance across populations. This study examined measurement invariance of one of the MMPI-2 scales (Hs) that includes TBI correction items. A four-factor model of the MMPI-2 Hs items was defined. The factor model was found to meet the criteria for partial measurement invariance. Analysis of the change in sensitivity and specificity values implied by partial measurement invariance failed to indicate significant practical impact of partial invariance. Overall, the results support continued use of all Hs items to assess psychological well-being in patients with TBI.

Psychological aspects of patients with Fabry disease

The Minnesota Muliphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) is widely used in chronic illness and chronic pain populations to assess psychological functioning. We report the results of the first investigation using the MMPI-2 to assess psychological aspects of patients with Fabry disease. Fabry disease, an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder, is a multisystem progressive disease affecting the kidney, heart, and central nervous system, and is particularly associated with chronic symptoms including pain. In this study, 28 patients with Fabry disease completed the MMPI-2 and a background questionnaire. Fabry disease patients scored significantly higher than the MMPI-2 normative sample on seven clinical scales (Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc) and two validity scales (L, F). Individuals with elevated scores on the Hs, D, and Hy scales tend to have somatic complaints, sadness, and emotional distress. Under stress, they may experience an increase in physical symptoms. Elevated Pd, Pa, Pt, and Sc scales suggest social maladjustment, suspiciousness, and feelings of isolation. An elevated L scale suggests defensiveness; a high score on F suggests emotional turmoil. When compared with cohorts of patients with Gaucher disease (GD), chronic heart disease (CRHD), and chronic pain, the Fabry disease patients had significantly higher scores than GD patients and CRHD patients on numerous clinical (Hs, D, Si), and validity (F) scales underscoring the relative amount of suffering and pain experienced by Fabry disease patients. No significant differences on any MMPI-2 scales were found between the Fabry disease patients and the pain patients, suggesting that Fabry disease patients may be comparable to pain patient populations.

Psychological complications of patients with Gaucher disease

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) is commonly used in chronic illness and chronic pain populations to assess psychological functioning. We report the results of the first study employing the MMPI-2 to assess psychological aspects of patients with Gaucher disease, type I (GD) is an inborn error of metabolism with unique features as a chronic illness: the disorder often presents with mild symptoms, and is frequently diagnosed in later childhood or adulthood; the treatment is highly efficacious, but, that same treatment is intrusive and expensive and requires that patients restructure their work and personal schedules. In this study, 28 patients with GD completed the MMPI-2 and a background questionnaire. GD patients scored significantly higher than the MMPI-2 normative sample on MMPI-2 scales of Validity (K), Hypochondriasis (Hs), Depression (D), Hysteria (Hy), Psychasthenia (Pt) and Schizophrenia (Sc). Individuals with elevated scores on the Hs, D and Hy scales tend to have somatic concerns and depressed mood. Under stress, they are likely to report physical symptoms. Elevated Pt and Sc scales suggest psychological turmoil and, possibly feelings of isolation. An elevated K scale indicates a tendency for individuals to deny psychopathology. The length of time the patient with GD had been on enzyme replacement therapy was not significantly related to any of the 13 MMPI-2 scales. Cohorts of patients with chronic heart disease (CRHD) and cohorts of patients with chronic pain were utilized as comparative populations in this investigation. The elevated scores of the GD patients on MMPI-2 scales Hs, D and Hy were similar to those of the CRHD population. The chronic pain patients also showed elevations on MMPI-2 scales Hs, D and Hy, which were elevated in the GD patients; the elevations in the chronic pain patients were higher than those shown by the GD patients. We conclude that patients with GD exhibit moderate to severe psychological complications, similar to patients with other long-term chronic illnesses.

The Effectiveness of MMPI-A Items in Discriminating Between Normative and Clinical Samples

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent (MMPI-A; Butcher et al., 1992) was released in 1992 and has rapidly become the most widely used objective personality assessment instrument with adolescents. Although the MMPI-A reduced or eliminated several problems associated with the use of the original MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) with adolescents, the MMPI-A does produce a high frequency of within normal limits basic scale profiles for individuals with substantial psychopathology including adolescents in inpatient psychiatric settings. To better understand the reasons for this phenomenon, we compared the item endorsement frequencies for the MMPI-A normative sample with results from two adolescent clinical samples, and these results were contrasted to the item endorsement frequencies for the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) normative sample and a clinical sample of adult psychiatric inpatients. Results showed that the MMPI-A contains a substantial number of items that do not show a significant difference in item endorsement frequency between normative and clinical samples. Furthermore, MMPI-A basic and content scales generally show a much lower percentage of effective items than do the corresponding scales for the MMPI-2. We discuss the findings in relation to the frequent occurrence of low range MMPI-A profiles in clinical samples and the potential usefulness of these results in future efforts to develop viable short forms for the MMPI-A.

MMPI-2 interpretation and closed-head trauma: Cross-validation of a correction factor

A substantial body of research suggests that the MMPI-2 contains a number of items that are sensitive to closed-head trauma (CHT) and other neurologic conditions. A correction procedure was recommended by Gass (1991) using an index consisting of 14 neurologically sensitive items that were extracted from a predominantly male veteran sample of CHT patients. The generalizability of these correction items was assessed in the present study by investigating the MMPI-2 scoring characteristics of an outpatient referral sample of 54 CHT patients (28 male, 26 female) who had sustained recent and mild head trauma. Their frequency of endorsement of MMPI-2 was contrasted with that of the MMPI-2 normative sample ( N = 2,600). Chi-square analyses identified the 15 MMPI-2 items that best differentiated this CHT sample from normal subjects. The results indicate that: (a) unlike those in an inpatient psychiatric sample ( n = 524), the MMPI-2 items that best distinguished the CHT Ss from normals consisted of neurologic symptom content; (b) of these 15 items, 10 were included in the 14-item correction (Gass, 1991); and (c) 13 of the 14 correction items effectively discriminated the cross-validation sample of CHT Ss from normals. These findings offer empirical support for the application of the MMPI-2 correction with patients who have mild and recent head trauma.

MMPI-2 interpretation and closed-head trauma: Cross-validation of a correction factor

A substantial body of research suggests that the MMPI-2 contains a number of items that are sensitive to closed-head trauma (CHT) and other neurologic conditions. A correction procedure was recommended by Gass (1991) using an index consisting of 14 neurologically sensitive items that were extracted from a predominantly male veteran sample of CHT patients. The generalizability of these correction items was assessed in the present study by investigating the MMPI-2 scoring characteristics of an outpatient referral sample of 54 CHT patients (28 male, 26 female) who had sustained recent and mild head trauma. Their frequency of endorsement of MMPI-2 was contrasted with that of the MMPI-2 normative sample (N = 2,600). Chi-square analyses identified the 15 MMPI-2 items that best differentiated this CHT sample from normal subjects. The results indicate that: (a) unlike those in an inpatient psychiatric sample (n = 524), the MMPI-2 items that best distinguished the CHT Ss from normals consisted of neurologic symptom content; (b) of these 15 items, 10 were included in the 14-item correction (Gass, 1991); and (c) 13 of the 14 correction items effectively discriminated the cross-validation sample of CHT Ss from normals. These findings offer empirical support for the application of the MMPI-2 correction with patients who have mild and recent head trauma.

Development and preliminary validation of the MMPI-2 scale for same-sex priest child molesters

Abstract Priests with the disorder of same-sex ephebophilia were investigated, with the purpose of constructing and validating an MMPI-2 scale. The authors performed an item-level analysis, comparing priests in evaluation for same-sex ephebophilia (N = 100) to priests in evaluation for non-sexual psychiatric disorders (N = 100) and the MMPI-2 normative sample of men (N = 1138). The comparison resulted in a pool of 23 items. Cross-validation with another sample of same-sex priest ephebophiles (N = 38) and priest psychiatric controls (N = 40) indicated that the 23 items successfully discriminated the two groups. The 23-item scale was then further reduced to enhance its discriminatory power. Authors also used a one-way ANOVA to discriminate priest ephebophiles (N = 100) from priest pedophiles (N = 31). Results indicated that the MMPI-2 did not discriminate these groups.

MMPI‐2 interpretation and stroke: Cross‐validation of a correction factor

Accumulating data indicate that the MMPI-2 contains items that may be sensitive to neurologic conditions independent of a patient's psychological status. Gass (1992) identified 21 stroke-related MMPI/MMPI-2 items which were recommended for use as a score-correction index. This study examined these items using a cross-validation sample of 50 VA stroke patients. Item endorsement rates were contrasted with those of the MMPI-2 normative sample. The following results were obtained: The MMPI-2 items that distinguished stroke patients from normals have neurologic symptom content, all 21 correction items were upheld as effective discriminators, and the 21 items were commonly endorsed by the CVA patients (mean = 52%, range: 22% to 75%). These findings support the composition of the MMPI-2 correction for stroke and the rationale on which its application is based. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

MMPI-2 interpretation and stroke: cross-validation of a correction factor.

Accumulating data indicate that the MMPI-2 contains items that may be sensitive to neurologic conditions independent of a patient's psychological status. Gass (1992) identified 21 stroke-related MMPI/MMPI-2 items which were recommended for use as a score-correction index. This study examined these items using a cross-validation sample of 50 VA stroke patients. Item endorsement rates were contrasted with those of the MMPI-2 normative sample. The following results were obtained: The MMPI-2 items that distinguished stroke patients from normals have neurologic symptom content, all 21 correction items were upheld as effective discriminators, and the 21 items were commonly endorsed by the CVA patients (mean = 52%, range: 22% to 75%). These findings support the composition of the MMPI-2 correction for stroke and the rationale on which its application is based.

An MMPI-2 infrequent response scale for use with psychopathological populations: The Infrequency-Psychopathology Scale, F(p).

This article describes the development and initial validation of a new Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI-2; J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) scale designed to detect infrequent responding in settings characterized by relatively high base rates of psychopathology and psychological distress. The Infrequency-Psychopathology Scale, F(p), was developed by identifying a set of 27 MMPI-2 items answered infrequently by both inpatients and the MMPI-2 normative sample. The new scale's construct validity was examined through tests of a series of hypotheses derived from an analysis of the reasons for elevated Infrequency (F) and Infrequency-Back (Fb) scores in inpatient settings. The F(p) scale's incremental validity was explored by comparing its performance to that of the F scale. The results of this study suggest that F(p) may be used as an adjunct to F in settings characterized by relatively high base rates of psychopathology and psychological distress. An important feature contributing to the clinical usefulness of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) is the availability of scales that assess the validity of individual test protocols. The importance of appraising the validity of individual test scores was recognized by Hathaway and McKinley (1943), who included two validity scales, Lie (L) and Infrequency (F) in the original version of the MMPI. The F scale was developed as an infrequent-response indicator by identifying 64 items that were answered infrequently in the