Incremental validity of the MMPI-2 content scales in an outpatient mental health setting.

The incremental validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 Content Scales (MMPI—2; J. N. Butcher, J. R. Graham, C. L. Williams, & Y. S. Ben-Porath, 1990) was examined using clinical and content scale scores to predict conceptually relevant symptoms and personality characteristics of 274 male and 425 female mental health center outpatients. Regression analyses were performed to determine if the content scales contributed significantly beyond the conceptually relevant clinical scales in predicting therapists' ratings. Of the 10 content scales analyzed, incremental validity was demonstrated for 7 scales for men and 3 scales for women. A 2nd set of analyses indicated that incremental validity was demonstrated for 4 clinical scales for men and 6 clinical scales for women. The findings provide further evidence that the content scales aid interpretation of MMPI—2 scores by contributing additional information beyond the clinical scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)