title: The Cross-Cultural Validity of the MMPI-2-RF Higher-Order Scales in a Sample of North Korean Female Refugees.
abstract: We investigated the cross-cultural factorial validity of the three Higher-Order (H-O) scales in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) among a sample of North Korean female refugees (N = 2,732). Given the importance of the H-O scales in the overall structure of the MMPI-2-RF scales and in interpretation, we were interested in exploring their cross-cultural validity. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the nine Restructured Clinical (RC) scale raw scores and fitted and compared one- to three-factor models. The three-factor model, akin to the model in Tellegen and Ben-Porath, demonstrated the best fit to the data. Furthermore, the pattern matrices of loadings across the current sample and the U.S. samples were comparable despite some differences, such as the RC2 scale's salient, negative loading on a factor analogous to the Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction scale. We also investigated the unique psychological characteristics of the refugees, possibly resulting from the arduous, perilous journeys out of North Korea taken by this group of female refugees and discussed the results of EFA in light of those singular psychological traits and experiences. Overall, the three H-O scales of the Korean MMPI-2-RF evidenced reasonable cross-cultural factorial validity among the sample of North Korean female refugees.
authors.affiliation: Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA, USA shkim@fuller.edu kimhk@dsu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Seong-Hyeon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Grace M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.affiliation: Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Toruno
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Alissa R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Sherry
authors.affiliation: Dongshin University, Naju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Hee Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D056911:Democratic People's Republic of Korea; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MMPI-2-RF; North Korean refugees; cross-cultural validity; factor analysis; higher-order scales