Comparing MMPI-2-Restructured Form Scores by Service Era for Veterans Assessed Within the Veteran Affairs Healthcare System

• Published in: Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 366 - 375
• Main Authors: Ingram, Paul B., Tarescavage, Anthony M., Ben-Porath, Yossef S., Oehlert, Mary E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-06-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Chronic pain; Clinical significance; Delivery of Health Care; Drug use; Family Medicine; Female; General Practice; Health care; Health Psychology; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Middle Aged; Military service; MMPI; Persian Gulf War; Personality tests; Post traumatic stress disorder; Primary care; Reproducibility of Results; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Trauma; United States; Validity scales; Veterans; Veterans - psychology; United States; United States > US; Vietnam; Service era; Psychological assessment; Veteran Affairs; MMPI-2-RF
• ISSN: 1068-9583; 1573-3572
• DOI: 10.1007/s10880-019-09650-2

This study compares profiles of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) scale scores from 1492 VA test-takers who served during the Vietnam or Gulf War service eras. The sample includes all such cases collected at any VA posttraumatic stress disorder Clinical Teams across the United States between January 1, 2008 and May 31, 2015 using the MMPI-2 or MMPI-2-RF (via the VA Mental Health Assistant suite). Associations between gender and score differences were also examined. In contrast to past research using the MMPI-2, results of this study suggest that veterans are generally homogeneous in their MMPI-2-RF profiles across different periods of service. Specifically, the magnitudes of mean differences are small and not clinically significant. Thus, responses on the MMPI-2-RF do not appear influenced by service era. Implications for the clinical use of, and research with, the MMPI-2-RF are discussed within the VA healthcare system.