How to Interpret the MMPI-2 With Different Cultures

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 is a 567-item test which measures various different traits on a number of scales. This test was designed to understand personality and identify psychopathology. However, it was designed with white American culture in mind as the norm, and therefore certain elements considered abnormal by the test may simply be culturally instilled behaviors that are considered perfectly among certain communities. Taking an individual's cultural background into consideration is absolutely necessary to accurately interpret the results of an MMPI-2.

Things You'll Need

• MMPI-2 test results
• MMPI-2 reference guide
• Multicultural assessment handbook

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Instructions

• 1

  Engage in at least one therapeutic session with an individual before administering the test. Get to know his basic attitudes, personality traits and perceptions if possible. Ask questions regarding his cultural background, where he was raised and what his early family life was like if he seems receptive to answering such questions. Without a feel for the individual himself, the test results will remain abstract, no matter how technical and precise they may be.

• 2

  Assess the client's level of acculturation by considering his background, history and experiences. If a minority client grew up in a middle upper-class suburb and her parents spoke English, she is likely to be fairly acculturated and her non-dominant culture may not have much of an impact on her scores. If the client grew up in a neighborhood with few white residents, he may be less acculturated. An individual who is a recent immigrant has probably not acculturated at all yet. The less acculturation in a client demonstrates, the more consideration you must put into reinterpreting the norms for the test results.

• 3

  Explain the test to the client in clear terms so that he will understand. Note the number of items and explain that the test should take between 60 and 90 minutes. Encourage him to answer truthfully and not to think too extensively about his answers, instead choosing the one that seems most natural. Allow the client to ask questions, as it is crucial that he understands the test for him to provide an accurate reflection of himself.

• 4

  Print out the test results and examine the validity, clinical, supplementary and content scales. Identify any scales that fall above a T score of 65 or below 50, as these fall out of the midrange that is considered normal.

• 5

  Use a reference guide and multicultural assessment handbook to investigate your findings and determine if the elevated or depressed scores you identified are common patterns in other individuals with the same cultural background. For example, a young African American male may have an elevated FRS (fears) scale. This would indicate that he is excessively and inappropriately fearful. However, studies have shown that this is a common trend in African American males, and further investigation is necessary to determine if it is pathological.

• 6

  Use these elevated scales and applicable research findings on a specific cultural subset to gain a more three-dimensional understanding of your client. For example, instead of diagnosing the young male with a phobia or anxiety disorder due to his high FRS scale, you may inquire into whether he has just cause to be experience a sense of fear. You may learn that he encounters violence on a daily basis, and therefore this scale is a reflection of his environment, not a disorder.