A Comparison of the Descriptive Information from the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF.

Do MMPI-2 or MMPI-2-RF profiles differ in how accurately they depict examinees? To explore this question, we examined differences in clinical descriptions of equivalent profiles from the two instruments. Fourteen valid MMPI-2 protocols from an archival private practice sample were scored as both the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-2-RF. The resulting 28 profiles were coded separately by four raters using the Midwestern Q-Sort. Examinee descriptions from the two instruments were compared in terms of their (a) similarity, operationalized by q-correlations between corresponding MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF ratings; (b) descriptive validity, operationalized by correlations with q-sorts provided by the examinees' therapists; and (c) incremental descriptive validity, operationalized by incremental prediction of the therapist q-sorts by the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF, one over the other. Descriptions from corresponding MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF score reports were highly intercorrelated. Ratings from both were valid predictors of therapist descriptions, and neither clearly outperformed the other in terms of incremental validity.