Historical Highlights in Using the MMPI / MMPI - 2 in Personal Injury Cases or Compensation Evaluations 1 11 / 1 / 16

McKinley & Hathaway (1940) published the Hypochondriasis or Hs Scale as a means of understanding physical symptoms reported by the patient. They also developed the Hysteria or Hy scale (McKinley & Hathaway, 1944) to measure the expression of physical complaints in the context of hysteroid personality characteristics (e.g. denial). Hundreds of articles have been published on the use of the MMPI and MMPI-2 scales in assessing patients in medical contexts. A recent review of MMPI/MMPI-2 research by Butcher, Hass, Greene & Nelson (2015) provides an overview of using the MMPI-2 in personal injury evaluations. This Highlight File notes some of the special contributions that were made showing the utility of MMPI scales in describing and predicting behavior pertinent to compensation seeking or personal injury litigation or PTSD compensation. Numerous contributions to this forensic assessment could have been included. Several major research studies are highlighted and their findings/implications for personal injury litigation are noted here.