Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent

MMPI-A
  • James N. Butcher, PhD
  • Carolyn Williams, PhD
  • John R. Graham, PhD
  • Robert P. Archer, PhD
  • Auke Tellegen, PhD
  • Yossef S. Ben-Porath, PhD
  • Beverly Kaemmer, Coordinator for the Press
An empirically based measure of adolescent psychopathology, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory®-Adolescent (MMPI®-A) aids in problem identification, diagnosis, and treatment planning for youth. Guidance on using this test in your telepractice.

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  • MMPI-3: Administration, Scoring, and Basic Interpretation · On Demand · 7 Hours
    A103000314687 Qualification Level C

    This 7-hour advanced workshop introduces the MMPI-3, the most up-to-date, newly normed version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. In this on demand workshop, test co-author Dr. Yossef Ben-Porath describes the rationale for, and methods used to develop, the MMPI-3, including the background and development, norms and test documentation, scales, interpretive guidelines, and case illustrations. Attendees will learn how the MMPI-3 builds on the legacy and strengths of the MMPI instruments to provide an empirically validated, psychometrically sound measure of psychopathology and personality. It is assumed that attendees have had graduate-level training in psychological testing and assessment.

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Overview

Publication date:

1992 (Manual), 2006 (Manual Supplement)

Age range:
14-18 years
Reading Level:
4.9 grade (Lexile average), 4.4 grade (Flesch-Kincaid)
Qualification level:
C
Completion time:

Approximately 60 minutes

Administration:
Online administration, Computer, CD, paper and pencil
Scoring options:
Q-global® Scoring & Reporting, Hand Scoring, Q™ Local Software, or Mail-in Scoring Service
Report Options:
MMPI-A Adolescent System Interpretive Reports, Extended Score Report
Norms:
The MMPI-A normative sample consists of 1,620 adolescents (805 boys; 815 girls) between 14 and 18 years of age from several regions of the U.S., a balanced sample for region, rural-urban residence, and ethnicity.
Telepractice:
Guidance on using this test in your telepractice.

Product Details

The MMPI-A-RF has now been released. View the page.

An empirically based measure of adolescent psychopathology, the MMPI-A test contains adolescent-specific scales, and other unique features designed to make the instrument especially appropriate for today’s youth. Offering reports tailored to particular settings, the MMPI-A test helps provide relevant information to aid in problem identification, diagnosis, and treatment planning for youth (ages 14–18).

How to Use This Test

School, clinical, and counseling psychologists can use this self-report inventory to help:

  • Support diagnosis and treatment planning in a variety of settings.
  • Identify the root causes of potential problems early on.
  • Provide easy-to-understand information to share with parents, teachers, and others in the adolescent’s support network.
  • Guide professionals in making appropriate referrals.

Key Features

  • Item content and language are relevant for adolescents.
  • At the psychologist’s discretion, the clinical scales and three of the validity scales can be scored from the first 350 items, a significant savings in administration time.
  • Norms are adolescent-specific.
  • Scales help address problems clinicians are likely to see with adolescents, including family issues, eating disorders, and chemical dependency.

Scales

View list of scales

Psychometric Information

The normative sample of the MMPI-A test consists of 805 adolescent males and 815 adolescent females from eight communities in the U.S. The sites were chosen to maximize the probability of obtaining a balanced sample of subjects according to geographic region, rural/urban residence, and ethnic background.

Telepractice

Find out how to use this test in your telepractice.

Learn more

Training

Getting Started with the Q-global Training Series

View these brief training modules about Q-global:

 

 

Scoring & Reporting

Interpretive Report

This comprehensive report helps provide an objective psychological picture of the adolescent through scale scores, special indices, and narrative statements.

Based on extensive experience in MMPI and MMPI-2 research and clinical practice, authors James N. Butcher, PhD, and Carolyn L. Williams, PhD, provide information on the following:

  • Symptomatic Behavior
  • Interpersonal Relationships
  • Behavioral Stability
  • Diagnostic and Treatment Considerations
  • A list of omitted items and suggested items for follow-up

The report presents the following scales:

  • Validity and Clinical Scales profiled and interpreted
  • Content Scales profiled and interpreted
  • Supplementary Scales profiled with alcohol/drug scales interpreted
  • PSY-5 Scales profiled and interpreted
  • Clinical Subscales (Harris-Lingoes and Social Introversion Subscales) (reported only)
  • Content Component Scales (reported only)

Sample Reports

Specialized reports are available for the following settings:

Extended Score Report

This report provides raw and T scores for all standard MMPI-A scales as well as the PSY-5 Scales, Content Component Subscales, and critical items.

Sample Report

Basic Service Report

The Basic Service Report has been discontinued. See the MMPI-A Extended Score Report or the MMPI-A-RF Score Report for alternatives most similar to the Basic Service Report.

Scoring and Reporting Options

Q-global® Web-based Administration, Scoring, and Reporting – Enables you to quickly assess and efficiently organize examinee information, generate scores, and produce accurate comprehensive reports all via the Web.

Manual Scoring - Administer assessments on answer sheets and score them yourself with answer keys and profile/record forms.

 

FAQs

Frequently asked questions follow. Click on a question to see the response.

I am getting scores but no profile on an MMPI-A report for a 13-year-old. Is it valid?

The MMPI-A instrument was developed for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 (normative group). It may be appropriate to assess 13-year-olds if they are mature enough to answer the items meaningfully and if they read at the requisite level. Because 13-year-olds were not included in the normative sample, the scores are shown but are not plotted in the Extended Score Report. However, the scores are plotted on The Minnesota Report.

What are the demographic default values for an MMPI-A administration?

The Adolescent System Interpretive Report defaults to the following demographic if it is omitted: Setting: Outpatient.

Test Date, Birth Date, ID Number, and Gender must be filled in. The software will not print any type of report without this information. Age is calculated from the Test Date and Birth Date.

Where can I find information on the critical items for the MMPI-A test?

Additional information on the development of the standard set of critical items for the MMPI-A test can be found in A Critical Item Set for the MMPI-A and Supplement to the MMPI-A Manual (University of Minnesota Press). This test monograph and manual supplement are available from Pearson (product numbers 29430 and 25036). Critical items are included in the Minnesota Report and the Extended Score Report.

Is there a section in the MMPI-A manual that compares the MMPI, MMPI-2, and MMPI-A items?

Yes. In Appendix E, there is a list of similar items on the three assessments. A dash in the table indicates that the item is not on that particular assessment.

What is F1?

F is a validity scale measuring more bizarre responses (i.e., responses chosen by less than 10% of normal people). F1 is like F on the MMPI-2 test, and F2 is like FB on the MMPI-2 test. F is the average of those two (F1 and F2). For more information, see the MMPI-A manual.

Why does the TRIN scale have a "T" or an "F" plotted above the mean (50T) on the profile?

T is printed when the raw score is greater than 9, and F is printed when the raw score is less than or equal to 9. See the MMPI-A manual for more information about the TRIN scale.

What is the difference between the Depression scale in the Clinical Scales and the Depression scale in the Content Scales?

The Depression scale in the Clinical Scales is a heterogeneous measure of depression (it measures more than one facet of depression). This scale was developed on psychiatric patients with various forms of symptomatic depression. The Depression scale in the Clinical Scales measures discomfort and dissatisfaction with life, characterized by poor morale, lack of hope in the future, denial of happiness and self-worth, withdrawal, psychomotor retardation, and other facets of symptomatic depression.

The Depression scale in the Content Scales measures only one facet of depression, self-reported depressive thoughts.

What effect does age have on MMPI-A scores?

The MMPI-A instrument was developed for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 (normative group).

Clinicians administering the MMPI-A instrument to clients 12 or 13 years old should be aware that they are using the instrument with an age group that has a higher incidence of difficulty with the assessment and therefore they should be cautious in their interpretations. The MMPI-A instrument is probably developmentally inappropriate for children under 12.

Normative and clinical samples for both the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-A instruments include 18-year-olds, so the clinician should make a case-by-case judgment about which assessment to use with 18-year-old clients. A suggested guideline would be to use the MMPI-A instrument with 18-year-olds who are still in high school and the MMPI-2 instrument with 18-year-olds who are in college, working, or living an otherwise independent adult lifestyle.

How do I enter an Abbreviated MMPI-A test in Q Local software?

To facilitate an Abbreviated MMPI-A test administration, all of the items needed to score the 10 Clinical Scales and 3 Validity Scales L, F1, and K appear within the first 350 items. To enter an Abbreviated MMPI-A test in Manual Entry, simply enter a “2” for “Abbreviated” under “Type” in the demographics. Enter the client’s responses to the first 350 items of the test only, then save and print. To administer an Abbreviated MMPI-A test in On-Screen Entry, choose “Abbreviated” in the administrator demographics when this option appears. The On-Screen administration will end after the first 350 items are administered.

What scales can be scored if only the first 350 items are administered?

Clinical, validity (L, F1, K), and clinical subscales (Harris-Lingoes and Si subscales).

If I have a client answer the first 350 items and choose to print an Extended Score Report, will I have scorable validity indicators (L, F1, K), clinical scales, and clinical subscales (Harris-Lingoes and Si subscales)?

Yes. These scales will be scorable, but any scales with items that fall beyond 350 will not be complete (e.g., more recent validity indicators, content scales, supplementary scales).

Where can I find information on the PSY-5 Scales and Content Component Scales for the MMPI-A test?

PSY-5 (Personality Psychopathology-Five) Scales and Content Component Scales were added to the MMPI-A Extended Score Report and hand-scoring materials in 2006 and to The Minnesota Report in 2007. A manual supplement is available that contains information on these newly released scales. This manual supplement is available from Pearson (product number 25036).

 

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