Use of the Mmpi/mmpi-2 for Ptsd Evaluations

Hundreds of articles have been published on the use of the MMPI and MMPI-2 scales to assess patients who develop mental health problems in response to stressful life events. The following summaries highlight the history of research on post-traumatic stress using scales from the MMPI-2, and its predecessor, the MMPI. The articles selected for the Highlights provide valuable information for understanding this test application. References are provided below for interested persons to follow-up for more detail. In addition to the MMPI-2 Clinical Scales (particularly D, Pt, Hs and Hy) developed by Hathaway and McKinley in the 1940s, several other MMPI-2 scales have been shown to be useful for PTSD evaluations. These include the PTSD scale (Pk) by Keane and colleagues, the Ps scale by Schlenger and Kulka, the Cooke-Medley Hostility scale (Ho), and the Anger Content Scale (ANG). Elevations on MMPI and MMPI-2 measures of depression, anxiety and somatization are apparent beginning with the earliest studies of patients with PTSD, which is consistent with other research on comorbidity. Readers should note that little, if any, of these historical highlights apply to the scales on the 2008 MMPI-2-RF, a shortened test that does not share this history of validation for the assessment of PTSD.