Correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) Scales in a Forensic Assessment Setting

Abstract

Empirical correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales in a forensic assessment setting were identified. Archival extratest data, including demographics, psychosocial history, criminal behavior history, and current mental status and psychodiagnosis, were extracted from the case files of 593 men and women referred to a forensic assessment clinic for criminal courtordered evaluations. Zero-order and multiple correlations were calculated between the MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales and relevant criterion variables. Findings indicated that the PSY-5 scales’ empirical correlates in a forensic setting are similar to and consistent with those found in general mental health settings. Linear combinations of MMPI-2 PSY-5 Scale scores accounted for moderate proportions of variance in the collateral indicators.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ackerman, M. J., & Ackerman, M. C. (1997). Custody evaluations practices: A survey of experienced professionals (revisited) . Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 28, 137–145 .

American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders(3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author .

Bagby, R. M., Ryder, A. G., Ben-Dat, D., Bacchiochi, J., & Parker, J. (2002). Validation of the dimensional factor structure of the Personality Psychopathology Five in a clinical and non-clinical samples . Journal of Personality Disorders, 16, 304–316 .

Boccaccini, M. T., & Brodsky, S. L. (1999). Diagnostic test usage by forensic psychologists in emotional injury cases . Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30, 253–259 .

Borum, R., & Grisso, T. (1995). Psychological test use in criminal forensic evaluations . Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 26, 465–473 .

Butcher, J. N., Graham, J. R., Ben-Porath, Y. S., Tellegen, A., Dahlstrom, W. G., & Kaemmer, B. (2001). MMPI-2 manual for administration scoring and interpretation, revised edition. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press .

Cleckley, H. (1982). The mask of sanity(5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby .

Costa, P. T., & McCrea, R. R. (1990). Personality disorders and the fivefactor model of personality . Journal of Personality Disorders, 4, 362–372 .

Gacono, C. B. (2002). Why there is a need for the personality assessment of offenders . International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 46, 271–273 .

10.

Hagen, M. A., & Castagna, N. (2001). The real numbers: Psychological testing in custody evaluations . Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 32, 269–271 .

11.

Harkness, A. R. (1992). Fundamental topics in the personality disorders: Candidate trait dimensions from lower regions of the hierarchy . Psychological Assessment, 4, 251-259 .

12.

Harkness, A. R., & McNulty, J. L. (1994). The Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5: Issue from the pages of a diagnostic manual instead of a dictionary). In S. Strak & M. Lorr (Eds.), Differentiating normal and abnormal personality(pp. 291–315). New York: Springer .

13.

Harkness, A. R., McNulty, J. L.,& Ben-Porath, Y. F. (1995). The Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5); Constructs and MMPI-2 scales . Psychological Assessment, 7, 104–114 .

14.

Harkness, A. R., McNulty, J. L., Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Graham, J. R. (2002). MMPI-2 Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales. Gaining an overview for case conceptualization and treatment planning. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press .

15.

John, O. P.,& Robbins, R. W. (1993). Gordon Allport: Father and critic of the five-factor model. In K. H. Craik, R. Hogan,& R. N. Wolfe (Eds.), Fifty years of personality psychology(pp. 215–236). New York: Plenum .

16.

LaFortune, K. A.,& Carpenter, B. N. (1998). Custody evaluations: Asurvey of mental health professionals . Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 16, 207–224 .

17.

McNulty, J. L., & Harkness, A. R. (2002). The MMPI-2 Personality Psychopathology-5 (PSY-5) Scale and the five factor model. In B. DeRaad & M. Perugini (Eds.), Big five assessment(pp. 435–456). Minneapolis, MN: Hogrefe & Huber .

18.

Otto, R. K. (2002). Use of the MMPI-2 in forensic settings . Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 2, 71-92 .

19.

Pope, K. S., Butcher, J. N.,& Seelen, J. (2000). The MMPI, MMPI-2, and MMPI-A in court(2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .

20.

Rogers, R.,& McKee, G. R. (1995). Use of the MMPI-2in the assessment of criminal responsibility. In Y. S. Ben-Porath, J. R. Graham, G. C. Hall, R. D. Hirschman, & M. S. Zaragoza (Eds.), Forensic applications of the MMPI-2(pp. 103–126). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .

21.

Rogers, R., & Shuman, D. W. (2000). Conducting insanity evaluations. New York: Guilford Publications .

22.

Rouse, S. V., Butcher, J. N., & Miller, K. B. (1999). Assessment of substance abuse in psychotherapy clients: The effectiveness of the MMPI-2 Substance Abuse scales . Psychological Assessment, 11, 101–107 .

23.

Tellegen, A. (1982). Brief manual for the differential personality questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (since renamed Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire).

24.

Tellegen, A. (1985). Structures of mood and personality and their relevance to assessing anxiety, with an emphasis on self-report. In A. H. Tuma & J. D. Masser (Eds.). Anxiety and the anxiety disorders. (pp. 681-706). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .

25.

Trull, T. J., Useda, J. D., Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1995). Comparison of the MMPI-2 Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5), the NEO-PI, and the NEO-PI-R . Psychological Assessment, 7, 508–516 .

26.

Vendrig, A. A., Derksen, J. J. L., & de Mey, H. R. (2000). MMPI-2 Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) and prediction of treatment outcome for patients with chronic back pain . Journal of Personality Assessment, 74, 423–438 .