A cultural-contextual perspective on the validity of the MMPI-2 with American Indians.
This study investigated the normative validity of the MMPI-2 with two distinct American Indian tribes. Differences occurred on 8 of the 13 basic validity and clinical scales (F, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) between the MMPI-2 norms and both tribal samples. Elevated MMPI-2 scores of American Indians may not only reflect the possibility of psychological distress spurred by historical oppression and present adversity, but also an expression of a divergent worldview. Considering the context of the historical and social production of knowledge about American Indians, it is argued that researchers and practitioners, when interpreting MMPI-2 results for American Indians, should seriously consider their interpretive points of reference, which may be impacted by dominant cultural belief systems.
Pace
Terry M
TM
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019-2041, USA. tpace@ou.edu
Robbins
Rockey R
RR
Choney
Sandra K
SK
Hill
Jill S
JS
Lacey
Kathleene
K
Blair
George
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology*; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results