title: Effects of two MMPI-2 validity scales on basic scale relations to external criteria.
abstract: Many clinicians have come to rely on the broad array of validity scales available on the MMPI and the MMPI-2. In this study, we evaluated the utility of 2 MMPI-2 validity scales, the K scale and VRIN scale, in a sample of 692 psychiatric inpatients. Specifically, the effects of the K-correction procedure and the exclusion of protocols based on VRIN scale elevations were examined on the relation between MMPI-2 basic clinical scales and external criteria including both self-report and clinician ratings of psychopathology. Results indicated that the K-correction procedure commonly used with the MMPI and MMPI-2 did not result in higher correlations with external criteria in comparison to non-K-corrected scores. In contrast, MMPI-2 protocols that produced VRIN T-score values > or = 80 generally produced lower correlations with patients self-reports and clinician ratings of psychopathology in comparison to protocols judged to be valid based on VRIN scale results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Eastern Virginia Medical School, USA.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Archer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fontaine
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: McCrae
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008873:Mid-Atlantic Region; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014342:Truth Disclosure