Chapter Two

CHAPTER 2

Administering, Scoring, and Profiling the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A

Selecting the Proper Form
- MMPI-A recommended for use with adolescents 14-18 years old; MMPI-2 for adults age 18+
- Clinicians working with 18-year olds should be aware of how the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A norm sets can produce different T scores based on the same raw score.
- Generally MMPI-2 norms will result in slightly higher T scores for the standard scales than would the use of MMPI-A norms
- In general, the MMPI-A item content is more appropriate for 18-year olds still living at home with parents and attending high school; the MMPI-2 is more appropriate for 18-year olds living away from their parents’ home, either in college or employed full time.
- Some clinicians question whether to use the MMPI-A for 19, 20 year olds or the MMPI-2 form for 16, 17 year olds (e.g. appropriate form is not available, a 16-year old being tried in adult court…). Test manuals clearly state that it is inappropriate to make individual predictions for those outside the age range of the instrument.
- 12-13 year old adolescents excluded from the MMPI-A Restandardization project’s normative sample because they produced a greater number of invalid profiles than did older adolescents. Clinicians should consider whether a 12-13 year old has the reading level, breadth of experiences, and patience to complete an MMPI-A. If successfully administered to a 12 or 13-year old, follow the scoring norms in the test manual
- Question whether client can read and understand English well enough to respond to the items. Sixth grade English-language reading level required. Foreign language versions of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A are available.

Administering the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A
- test should be administered in a professional manner to encourage a serious, task-oriented attitude on the part of the test-taker
- comfortable, private, supervised setting should be provided
- client should have enough work space to feel that their responses can be made privately, without concern about answers being observed
- desirable to explain the reasons for administering the MMPI-2 or MMPI-A , to ensure validity of the self-report.

Special Administration Considerations for Adults
- in some situations (e.g. personnel screening) applicants want to present themselves in a positive light, may be defensive about responses, resulting in invalid profiles. Some assessors attempt to obtain more valid recodrds by having applicants retake the test after alerting them to the fact that they were initially “too defensive” and produced unusable results. Usually re-taking the test results in less defensive profiles
- Some research has shown (pg 17) that subjects re-taking the test with special instructions about defensiveness (as above) usually have a valid second profile without significantly increasing their elevations on clinical scales. However, 14% of applicants had a valid second profile with significant scale elevations the second time, indicating that some applicants do “mask” psychological problems which can be detected on retest under conditions of altered instructions

Special Administration Considerations for Adolescents
Ensure the adolescent is a willing participant in the testing and approaches the task in a cooperative manner
Ensure the testing situation is private and free from intrusions/distractions
Ensure the adolescent understands the test instructions
Ensure the adolescent understands the MMPI-A instructions (requires a 6th grade reading level)
Provide sufficient breaks and reinforcements
Table 2.1 (pg. 19) shows words on the MMPI-A that adolescents commonly question,
along with standardized definitions and examples to clarify

MMPI-2 and MMPI-A Formats
- Paper and pencil versions (hardcover and softcover)
- Audiocassette versions
- Computer-Administered versions
o Some people (adolescents) prefer
o Takes less time to complete
o Scales can be scored and computer interpreted immediately after
Abbreviated and Short Forms for the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A
- Some researchers attempted to develop effective shortened versions of the oritinal MMPI to reduce the testing time for clients. However, none were found to provide sufficient information and were not recommended for clinical use.
Computer Adaptive Administration
- Item administration contingent on previous responding is technically possible, but this format has not yet been developed for clinical use

Scoring the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A
- Hand Scoring
o Trained individual hand scores the answer sheet and draws profiles by hand, time consuming (15-40 minutes)
o All scales (except VRIN and TRIN inconsistency scales) are scored by counting the number of items endorsed on the particular scale. Scoring templates are place over the answer sheet, responses are recorded on the appropriate place on the profile sheet
o Computer Scoring, Mail-in scoring

Plotting MMPI-2 and MMPI-A Profiles
- visual summary of the scale elevations and patterns of scores
- separate profiles are used for males and females

Uniform T Scores
- Restandardization Committee established uniform T scores, that would allow all the scale scores to fall at equivalent percentile ranks
K Correction
- Five of the MMPI-2 raw scores (Hs, Pd, Pt, Sc, Ma) are adjusted by adding a correction, based on the K score, in an effort to compensate for test defensiveness (not used for adolescents)

Coding the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A Profiles
The Welsh Code
o Each of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A standard scales has a number that serves as the basis for coding
o Each standard scale is represented by its number
(Hs 1) (D 2) (Hy 3) (Pd 4) (Mf 5) (Pa 6) (Pt 7) (Sc 8) (Ma 9) (Si 0)
o Write down the numbers representing the scales in order of T-score elevation, from highest to lowest
o Enter the appropriate symbols to denote scale elevation
(# 30-39) (: 40-49) (/ 50-59) (- 60-64) (+ 65-69) (‘ 70-79) (“ 80-89)
(* 90-99) (** 100 or more)

See pages 32-35 for more information on writing the Welsh code for a profile