Construct validity of the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment (Mt) Scale

Area of Science:

• Psychological Assessment
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is a widely used psychological assessment tool.
• The College Maladjustment (Mt) Scale is a specific scale within the MMPI-2 designed to assess maladjustment in students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the construct validity of the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment (Mt) Scale.
• To determine if the Mt scale is specific to college students and sensitive to severe psychological disturbance.

Main Methods:

• Principal components analysis was conducted on MMPI-2 data.
• Correlations were calculated between Mt scale scores and therapist/client ratings of symptoms and functioning.
• The study included 376 student clients from a university psychological clinic.

Main Results:

• The Mt scale effectively identifies maladjustment characterized by depressive and anxious symptoms.
• No evidence was found to support the scale's specificity to college students.
• The scale did not demonstrate sensitivity to severe psychological disturbances.
• The Mt scale does not provide insight into the reasons for a client's distress.
• No superiority of the Mt scale over other MMPI-2 maladjustment measures was identified.

Conclusions:

• The MMPI-2 Mt scale is useful for detecting general maladjustment related to depression and anxiety in student populations.
• Clinicians should utilize the full MMPI-2 profile for a more thorough and specific understanding of client issues.
• The Mt scale's limitations necessitate caution regarding its interpretation for college-specific issues or severe psychopathology.