Assessing depression with the MMPI and MMPI-2

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Clinical psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The diagnostic utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and its successor, the MMPI-2, for assessing depression has been debated.
• Previous research has explored the effectiveness of various MMPI and MMPI-2 scales in identifying depressive symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the predictive accuracy of the MMPI and MMPI-2 clinical and content scales for diagnosing depression.
• To compare the diagnostic efficiency of MMPI-2 Scale 2 (D) and the MMPI-2 Depression (DEP) content scale.

Main Methods:

• A review of studies examining the predictive power of MMPI and MMPI-2 scales for depression.
• Calculation of positive predictive power, negative predictive power, and overall classification rates for MMPI/MMPI-2 Scale 2 (D) and MMPI-2 DEP scale.

Main Results:

• MMPI and MMPI-2 Scale 2 (D) demonstrate moderate accuracy in predicting depression.
• The MMPI-2 Depression (DEP) content scale does not offer superior diagnostic efficiency compared to Scale 2 (D).
• Evidence for incremental validity of the DEP scale over Scale 2 (D) is not supported by this review.

Conclusions:

• MMPI and MMPI-2 Scale 2 (D) are moderately effective tools for predicting depression.
• The MMPI-2 DEP content scale does not enhance the diagnostic accuracy for depression beyond that of Scale 2 (D).
• Clinical and content scales of the MMPI/MMPI-2 show comparable diagnostic efficiency for depression assessment.