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Frequently asked questions follow. Click on a question to see the response.
Norms
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Does the MMPI-2-RF have different norms than the MMPI-2?
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The MMPI-2-RF normative sample is drawn from the MMPI-2 normative sample and consists of 2,276 men and women, 1,138 of each gender, between the ages of 18 and 80 from several regions and diverse communities in the U.S. The MMPI-2-RF T scores are non-gendered and non-K-corrected. No new norms were collected for the MMPI-2-RF.
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Are there norms for different cultures for the MMPI-2-RF test?
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American minorities are included in the normative sample. There are no separate cultural norms.
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Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation
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Where can I find information about the content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity of the MMPI-2-RF instrument?
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The manuals for the MMPI-2-RF are available from NCS Pearson, Inc.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2008). MMPI-2-RF Manual for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Tellegen, A., & Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2008). MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
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Are there tables in the MMPI-2-RF manuals converting MMPI-2 item ordering to MMPI-2-RF item ordering and vice versa?
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Yes, in Appendix E of the MMPI-2-RF Manual for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation (2008).
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Are all MMPI-2-RF scales copyrighted?
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Yes.
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Should I use the MMPI-2-RF instrument in light of the recent ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and the Civil Rights Act?
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Pearson cannot offer legal advice; we recommend that you seek the opinion of competent employment counsel to ensure that you obtain the most appropriate advice for your individual circumstances. The apparent impact of the ADA on the use of the MMPI-2-RF instrument relates to the timing of the administration. Because the MMPI-2-RF instrument appears to be classified as a medical examination under the ADA, it must be administered subsequent to a conditional offer of employment being tendered by an employer. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1991 ("CRA") it is inappropriate to use tests with either race or sex norms in the employment domain. The MMPI-2-RF norms are not based on race or sex.
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Invalid Report and Demographic Defaults
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What are the demographic default values and scorability rules for an MMPI-2-RF administration?
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Test Date, Birth Date, ID Number, and Gender must be filled in. The software will not print any report without this information. Age is calculated from the Test Date and Birth Date. If the client is younger than 18, no report will be printed. There are no default values for Years of Education, Marital Status, or Ethnic Origin if these demographic data are missing because they are not required and have no impact on the scoring of the MMPI-2-RF assessment.
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My MMPI-2-RF Score Report is invalid, but it doesn't say that on the report. Why not?
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The Score Report provides profiles and scores for the MMPI-2-RF scales, but does not provide an interpretation. Traditional invalidity rules are not applicable to the Score Report. When using this report, interpretation is the responsibility of the clinician. The clinician is responsible for addressing scale invalidity in his or her interpretation.
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How does the MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report deal with invalid protocols?
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Protocols that are invalid and uninterpretable due to elevated VRIN-r and TRIN-r scores include unscorable responses, but no critical responses for any scales. Protocols that are invalid and uninterpretable due to elevated F-r and Fp-r scores, and % scorable < 70 on any of the validity scales include unscorable responses and critical responses for the following seven scales (only if these scales are also elevated): SUI, HLP, AXY, RC6, RC8, SUB, and AGG. Invalid reports are clearly marked with an invalidity message on each profile and no interpretation is provided.
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My MMPI-2 report was scorable and valid, but my MMPI-2-RF report was not scorable and valid. Which test and report should I rely upon?
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The MMPI-2-RF Validity Scales are similar but not identical to the MMPI-2 Validity Scales. The former are less redundant (e.g., there is no item overlap on the VRIN-r and TRIN-r scales) and more up-to-date (e.g., unlike F, F-r includes only items rarely endorsed by the MMPI-2 normative sample). Because all of the MMPI-2-RF items are embedded in the MMPI-2, if the MMPI-2-RF report indicates that the protocol is invalid, then the MMPI-2 results are likely invalid as well and should not be interpreted. In an opposite case, if an MMPI-2 protocol is invalid and the MMPI-2-RF report indicates that the protocol is valid, the MMPI-2-RF results can be interpreted with caution.
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Scales
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What is the FBS-r (Symptom Validity) Scale?
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The FBS-r (Symptom Validity) Scale provides information regarding non-credible symptom reporting and has been found particularly useful in neuropsychological assessments.
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What is the RBS Scale?
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The Response Bias Scale (RBS) is an over-reporting indicator associated with exaggerated or non-credible memory complaints. References to RBS studies can be found in the MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual.
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Are the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales in the MMPI-2-RF the same as the RC Scales in the MMPI-2?
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Yes, they are identical. For more information about the RC Scales, visit: here
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Are the MMPI-2-RF T scores K-corrected?
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No. Published research indicates that the K correction does not enhance validity and in some cases validity is actually attenuated by the K correction.
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Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales
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What kind of documentation is available for the RC Scales?
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A test monograph, available from Pearson (Product # 29433), by Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham, & Kaemmer (2003), titled The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, Validation, and Interpretation, includes: an introduction providing the rationale for creating the RC Scales, information about how the scales were developed, detailed psychometric information on the reliability and validity of the RC Scales, recommendations for interpreting the RC Scales, case examples illustrating RC Scale interpretation, and a discussion of future directions in RC Scale research and application. This document also includes detailed appendixes specifying the item composition of the scales and raw-to-uniform T-score conversion tables. See also the MMPI-2-RF Manual for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation for an extensive discussion of the scales. Numerous publications on the RC Scales have appeared in the journal and book literature, including the text by Yossef S. Ben-Porath, Interpreting the MMPI-2-RF (2012), available from the University of Minnesota Press.
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What is the research base for the RC Scales?
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The development and validation of the scales is documented in the first chapter of a test monograph by Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham, & Kaemmer (2003), titled The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, Validation, and Interpretation, available from Pearson (Product # 29433). Numerous publications on the RC Scales have appeared in the journal and book literature, including the text by Yossef S. Ben-Porath, Interpreting the MMPI-2-RF (2012), available from the University of Minnesota Press.
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How were the RC Scales developed?
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The development of the scales is documented in the first chapter of a test monograph by Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham, & Kaemmer (2003), titled The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, Validation, and Interpretation, available from Pearson (Product # 29433), and in the text by Yossef S. Ben-Porath, Interpreting the MMPI-2-RF (2012), available from the University of Minnesota Press.
The author of the scales, Auke Tellegen, first isolated the general distress or “demoralization” component of the existing Clinical Scales. He then identified major distinctive and maximally demoralization-free components of the ten scales and constructed a set of new scales measuring these components for eight of the scales (not for Scales 5 and 0).
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Do the RC Scales overlap?
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No, they do not. It was the intent of the scales’ developer, Auke Tellegen, to construct scales that would each measure a major distinctive dimension currently embedded in the Clinical scales.
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Why don't scales 5 and 0 have corresponding RC Scales?
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The RC Scales were designed to assess psychopathology. Scale 5 does not assess a currently recognized clinical disorder, and Scale 0 measures a normal–range personality trait. The MMPI-2-RF, anchored by the RC Scales, includes scales that assess constructs associated with Clinical Scales 5 and 0.
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What are the intercorrelations of the RC Scales, and, in comparison, of the Clinical Scales?
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Intercorrelations of both sets of scales on several samples are reported in Tables 4-6 through 4-12 of a test monograph by Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham, & Kaemmer (2003), titled The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, Validation, and Interpretation,available from Pearson (Product #29433). As expected, the RC Scales are considerably less strongly intercorrelated (considerably more distinctive) than are the Clinical Scales.
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What are the test-retest reliabilities of the RC Scales?
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This information is provided in Tables 4-4 and 4-5 of a test monograph by Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham, & Kaemmer (2003), titled The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, Validation, and Interpretation Product # 29433) See also the MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual.
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What are the internal consistencies of the RC Scales?
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This information is provided in Tables 4-4 and 4-5 of a Test Monograph by Tellegen, Ben-Porath, McNulty, Arbisi, Graham. & Kaemmer (2003), titled The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales: Development, Validation, and Interpretation (Product # 29433). See also the MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual.
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Do I use the traditional cut-offs to evaluate elevations on the RC Scales?
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Yes, with the same precautions one should observe for employing any recommended cut-offs, namely that they be considered guidelines identifying points at which the interpretive focus should shift, rather than as fixed points demarcating qualitative change.
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Are the RC Scales K-corrected? Why not?
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The RC Scales are not K-corrected. Research indicates that the K correction either does not affect the validity of the Clinical Scales (in clinical settings) or significantly attenuates the validity of the scales. A K correction is therefore not applied to the RC Scales.
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Are the Clinical Scales less valid than the RC Scales?
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Research has established that in comparison with the Clinical Scales, the RC Scales have comparable to improved convergent validity and substantially improved discriminant validity.
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What is the Demoralization Scale?
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The Demoralization Scale provides an appraisal of the test-taker’s current overall sense of well-being. As such, it can serve as the starting point for the RC Scale interpretation process. It was constructed by extracting to the extent possible from the Clinical Scales the general distress component present in all the Clinical Scales as well as in most other MMPI-2 scales.
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Are the RC Scales useful with non-clinical populations that typically produce within-normal-limits profiles, like personnel/employee testing and child custody evaluations?
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The RC Scales can also be effective with non-clinical populations. Corey and Ben-Porath review studies that support and guide use of the RC Scales in pre-employment assessments of police officer candidates (see MMPI-2-RF Police Candidate Interpretive Report User’s Guide). This body of research indicates a need to use lower (than the traditional T score 65) cut-offs in assessments of risk for negative outcomes in police candidates. Table 4-6 includes recommended cut-offs for the RC Scales.
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How do the Clinical Scales and the RC Scales differ in how they assess psychopathology?
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Multiple elevations on the Clinical Scales may reflect comorbidity and/or demoralization, making it difficult to accurately determine the presence of actually comorbid and complex syndromes. The relatively low demoralization saturation of the RC Scales and their improved discriminant properties enable users to more accurately identify the necessary elements of a syndrome and the occurrence of comorbidity.
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Interpretive Reports
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Can I create my own comparison group?
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Yes. Users can create user-customized comparison groups based on data within their Q Local database. See chapter 5 of the MMPI-2-RF User's Guide for Reports (2011) for detailed instructions.
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Why didn't I receive all of the references in the End Notes section of my MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report: Clinical Settings?
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References are printed only for studies relied upon in generating correlate-based interpretive statements in a specific report. This enhancement was introduced in version 2.3 of Q Local software. An up-to-date list of all MMPI-2-RF references can be found at: here.
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Can the MMPI-2-RF Clinical Interpretive Report serve as a complete and independent psychological report on a client?
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No. As noted on each report, the statements contained in the narrative represent a professional-to-professional consultation and do not serve as an independent or "stand-alone" report. The following notice appears in the MMPI-2-RF reports: “The interpretive report is intended for use by a professional qualified to interpret the MMPI-2-RF. The information it contains should be considered in the context of the test-taker’s background, the circumstances of the assessment, and other available information.”
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What other interpretive reports are available for the MMPI-2-RF?
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The MMPI-2-RF Police Candidate Interpretive Report (PCIR) by David M. Corey and Yossef S. Ben-Porath is based on police officer outcome research and designed to assist psychologists in confidently evaluating police officer candidates accurately and efficiently.
The Spine Surgery Candidate Interpretive Report (Spine-CIR) and Spinal Cord Stimulator Interpretive Report (Stim-CIR) by Andrew R. Block and Yossef S. Ben-Porath are designed to assist psychologists in pre-surgical evaluations of patients being considered for these procedures.
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Can I exchange unused MMPI-2 report usages for MMPI-2-RF usages?
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Please call us at 1-800-627-7271 to discuss the exchange of MMPI-2 report usages for MMPI-2-RF usages.
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Can I print an MMPI-2 report and an MMPI-2-RF report for the same test-taker?
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Yes, the Score and Print Report menu for an MMPI-2 administration includes an option to generate an MMPI-2-RF report. An MMPI-2-RF usage will be required to generate the MMPI-2-RF report for the test-taker's administration. See chapter 5 of the MMPI-2-RF User's Guide for Reports (2011) for detailed instructions.
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Can I administer an “abbreviated” MMPI-2 test (first 370 items only) and get an MMPI-2-RF report?
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No. The MMPI-2-RF is composed of items throughout the entire MMPI-2 test booklet.
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Where can I find further information about the MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Reports?
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The MMPI-2-RF User's Guide for Reports is available from NCS Pearson, Inc.
The manuals for the MMPI-2-RF are available from Pearson:
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2008/2011). MMPI-2-RF Manual for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Tellegen, A., & Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2008/2011). MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Books available from the University of Minnesota Press:
Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2012). Interpreting the MMPI-2-RF. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Corey, D. M., & Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2018). Assessing Police and Other Public Safety Personnel Using the MMPI-2-RF: A Practical Guide. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Sellbom, M., & Wygant, D. B. (2018). Forensic Applications of the MMPI-2-RF: A Casebook. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
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Transitioning from the MMPI-2 to the MMPI-2-RF
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What are some resources to help transition from the MMPI-2 to the MMPI-2-RF?
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The University of Minnesota Press invited MMPI-2-RF co-authors Auke Tellegen and Yossef Ben-Porath to have a videotaped "conversation" about the test in the context of the development of all the MMPI instruments. Beginning with the original MMPI, authors Tellegen and Ben-Porath discuss the rationale for developing the tests and describe the major features of each. To view the videos, click here.
Dr. David McCord of Western Carolina University hosts a webinar on how to remain current in assessment by transitioning to the MMPI-2-RF, and how the test's transparent, straightforward interpretation leads to a better understanding of test results. Listen to a pre-recorded webinar on the training tab.
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