It’s true.
The standard has evolved.
Composed of 338 items, with the RC (Restructured Clinical) Scales at its core, the MMPI-2-RF builds on the strengths of the MMPI®-2 test to create a new standard. Psychometrically up-to-date, the MMPI-2-RF is linked to current models of psychopathology and personality. A comprehensive technical manual for the MMPI-2-RF reports empirical correlates of the scales in a range of settings, including mental health inpatient and outpatient clinics, substance abuse treatment centers, criminal court proceedings, personal injury and disability evaluations, and public safety employment evaluations.
The MMPI-2-RF provides a valuable alternative to the MMPI-2 test, not a replacement. The MMPI-2 test continues to be published and fully supported by the University of Minnesota Press and distributed exclusively by Pearson.
How to use this test
The MMPI-2-RF aids clinicians in the assessment of mental disorders, identification of specific problem areas, and treatment planning in a variety of settings. The test can be used to help:
- Assess major symptoms of psychopathology, personality characteristics, and behavioral proclivities.
- Evaluate participants in substance abuse programs and select appropriate treatment approaches.
- Assess medical patients and design effective treatment strategies, including chronic pain management.
- Support college and career counseling recommendations
- Provide valuable insight for marriage and family counseling.
- Support classification, treatment, and management decisions in criminal justice and correctional settings.
- Identify high-risk candidates in public safety screening and selection settings.
- Give strong empirical foundation for expert testimony in forensic evaluations.
Key Features
- Comprehensive technical manual that presents empirical data.The technical manual reports empirical correlates of the scales in a range of settings, including mental health inpatient and outpatient clinics, substance abuse treatment centers, criminal court proceedings, personal injury and disability evaluations, and public safety employment evaluations.
- Nationally representative normative sample. Drawn from the MMPI-2 normative sample, the MMPI-2-RF normative sample consists of 2,276 men and women between the ages of 18 and 80 from several regions and diverse communities in the U.S.
- Availability of comparison samples. Descriptive data from a broad range of settings make it possible for test users to compare individual test results with relevant reference groups in settings such as mental health, medical, forensic, criminal justice, and public safety.
- Only 35–50 minutes to administer.
Save even more time—administration by computer takes only 25–35 minutes.
New software and report features
- Audio on-screen administration of the MMPI-2-RF
- Convert MMPI-2 records to MMPI-2-RF records for comparison, click to download directions
- Add comparative means and standard deviations for 16 different settings to your MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report (product code #51563) or MMPI-2-RF Score Report (product code #51562)
- Add annotation, end notes, and hover text to your MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report—see illustration below
Click for Larger View
Q Local Software Users
Local version 2.2 update CDs include a special converter program that enables you to easily convert an MMPI-2 scored record to an MMPI-2-RF record that is ready for reporting. Directions for converting records can be found in your Q Local Help menu, or Chapter 5 of the MMPI-2-RF User’s Guide for Reports (product code #25055).
Quick Facts
| Publisher Statement |
The University of Minnesota Press is the publisher of the MMPI® instruments, representing the Regents of the University of Minnesota which hold copyright on the instruments. As publisher, the Press, working with its Advisory Board and consultants, is responsible for the substantive development of the tests, including any revisions to them. The University exclusively licenses Pearson to produce, market, and sell the MMPI test products and to offer scoring and interpretive services. |
| Date Published | 2008 |
| Administer To | Individuals 18 years and older |
| Reading Level | 5th grade (Lexile average), 4.5 grade (Flesch-Kincaid) |
| Completion Time | 35–50 minutes (338 true/false items) |
| Formats | Paper-and-pencil, CD, or computer administration |
| Report Options | Score Report or Interpretive Report: Clinical Settings |
| Scoring Options | Hand Scoring
Mail-in Scoring Service
Q™ Local Software |
| Scales | 8 Validity Scales
12 Higher-Order (H-O) and Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales
14 Somatic/Cognitive and Internalizing Scales
11 Externalizing, Interpersonal, and Interest Scales
5 Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) Scales |
| Norms | Nationwide adult community sample |
About the Authors
Yossef S. Ben-Porath, PhD
Yossef S. Ben-Porath, PhD is a Professor of Psychology at Kent State University. He received his doctoral training at the University of Minnesota and has been involved extensively in MMPI-2 research for the past 24 years. He is a co-author of MMPI-2-RF test and of test manuals and numerous books, book chapters, and articles on the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A tests. Dr. Ben-Porath is a co-developer of several MMPI-2 scales including VRIN, TRIN, and FP, the Content Scales, the PSY-5 Scales, and the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales. He is associate editor of the journal Psychological Assessment, and a member of the editorial board of other major assessment journals. His clinical practice involves consultation to agencies regarding use of the MMPI-2 test in personnel screening and in conducting criminal court-ordered forensic psychological evaluations.
Auke Tellegen, PhD
Auke Tellegen, PhD received a PhD in personality psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1962 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1963. He is Professor Emeritus in the department of psychology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Tellegen has published on the assessment of mood, personality, hypnotic responsiveness, and psychopathology. He is co-author of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A tests and author of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales. He also is the author of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), a broadband personality inventory.
Scales
| Validity |
| ? | Cannot Say (reported as a raw score only, not plotted) |
| VRIN-r | Variable Response Inconsistency |
| TRIN-r | True Response Inconsistency |
| F-r | Infrequent Responses |
| Fp-r | Infrequent Psychopathology Responses |
| Fs | Infrequent Somatic Responses |
| FBS-r | Symptom Validity |
| L-r | Uncommon Virtues |
| K-r | Adjustment Validity |
| Higher-Order (H-O) and Restructured Clinical (RC) |
| Higher-Order (H-O) |
| EID | Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction |
| THD | Thought Dysfunction |
| BXD | Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction |
| RC (Restructured Clinical) |
| RCd | Demoralization |
| RC1 | Somatic Complaints |
| RC2 | Low Positive Emotions |
| RC3 | Cynicism |
| RC4 | Antisocial Behavior |
| RC6 | Ideas of Persecution |
| RC7 | Dysfunctional Negative Emotions |
| RC8 | Aberrant Experiences |
| RC9 | Hypomanic Activation |
| Somatic/Cognitive and Internalizing |
| Somatic/Cognitive |
| MLS | Malaise |
| GIC | Gastrointestinal Complaints |
| HPC | Head Pain Complaints |
| NUC | Neurological Complaints |
| COG | Cognitive Complaints |
| Internalizing Scales |
| SUI | Suicidal/Death Ideation |
| HLP | Helplessness/Hopelessness |
| SFD | Self-Doubt |
| NFC | Inefficacy |
| STW | Stress/Worry |
| AXY | Anxiety |
| ANP | Anger Proneness |
| BRF | Behavior-Restricting Fears |
| MSF | Multiple Specific Fears |
| Externalizing, Interpersonal, and Interest |
| Externalizing |
| JCP | Juvenile Conduct Problems |
| SUB | Substance Abuse |
| AGG | Aggression |
| ACT | Activation |
| Interpersonal Scales |
| FML | Family Problems |
| IPP | Interpersonal Passivity |
| SAV | Social Avoidance |
| SHY | Shyness |
| DSF | Disaffiliativeness |
| Interest Scales |
| AES | Aesthetic-Literary Interests |
| MEC | Mechanical-Physical Interests |
| Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) Scales |
| AGGR-r | Aggressiveness-Revised |
| PSYC-r | Psychoticism-Revised |
| DISC-r | Disconstraint-Revised |
| NEGE-r | Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism-Revised |
| INTR-r | Introversion/Low Positive Emotionality-Revised |
Norms
The MMPI-2-RF normative sample is drawn from the MMPI-2 normative sample. It consists of 2,276 men and women between the ages of 18 and 80 from several regions and diverse communities in the U.S. The MMPI-2-RF T scores are non-gendered and non-K-corrected.
Report Options
- Interpretive Report: Clinical Settings (product code # 51563 for Q Local and product code # 21301 for mail-in scoring service)
- Score Report (product code # 51562 for Q Local and product code # 21300 for mail-in scoring service)
View report samples.
Scoring Options
Q™ Local Software - Enables you to score assessments, report results, and store and export data on your computer.
Mail-in Scoring Service - Specially designed answer sheets are mailed to us for processing within 24–48 hours of receipt and returned via regular mail.
Hand Scoring - Administer assessments on answer sheets and score them yourself with answer keys and profile forms.
Common Questions and Answers
Choose a category below or scroll the questions:
Invalid Report and Demographic Defaults
Norms and Scales
Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation Help and Other Information
Invalid Reports and Demographic Defaults
What are the demographic default values and scorability rules for an MMPI-2-RF administration?
Test Date, Birth Date, ID Number, and Gender must be filled in. The software will not print any report without this information. Age is calculated from the Test Date and Birth Date. If the client is younger than 18, no report will be printed. There are no default values for Years of Education, Marital Status, or Ethnic Origin if these demographic data are missing because they are not required and have no impact on the scoring of the MMPI-2-RF assessment.
My MMPI-2-RF Score Report is invalid, but it doesn't say that on the report. What is wrong?
The Score Report provides profiles and scores for the MMPI-2-RF scales, but does not provide an interpretation. Traditional invalidity rules are not applicable to the Score Report. When using this report, interpretation is the responsibility of the clinician. The clinician is responsible for addressing scale invalidity in his or her interpretation.
How does the MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report deal with invalid protocols?
Protocols that are invalid and uninterpretable due to elevated VRIN-r and TRIN-r scores include unscorable responses, but no critical responses for any scales. Protocols that are invalid and uninterpretable due to elevated F-r and Fp-r scores, and % scorable < 70 on any of the validity scales include unscorable responses and critical responses for the following seven scales (only if these scales are also elevated): SUI, HLP, AXY, RC6, RC8, SUB, and AGG. Invalid reports are clearly marked with an invalidity message on each profile and no interpretation is provided.
My MMPI-2 report was scorable and valid, but my MMPI-2-RF report was not scorable and valid. Which test and report should I rely upon?
The MMPI-2-RF Validity Scales are similar but not identical to the MMPI-2 Validity Scales. The former are less redundant (e.g., there is no item overlap on the VRIN-r and TRIN-r scales) and more up-to-date (e.g., unlike F, F-r includes only items rarely endorsed by the MMPI-2 normative sample). Because all of the MMPI-2-RF items are embedded in the MMPI-2, if the MMPI-2-RF report indicates that the protocol is invalid, then the MMPI-2 results are likely invalid as well and should not be interpreted. In an opposite case, if an MMPI-2 protocol is invalid and the MMPI-2-RF report indicates that the protocol is valid, the MMPI-2-RF results can be interpreted with caution.
Norms and Scales
Does the MMPI-2-RF have different norms than the MMPI-2?
The MMPI-2-RF normative sample is drawn from the MMPI-2 normative sample and consists of 2,276 men and women, 1,138 of each gender, between the ages of 18 and 80 from several regions and diverse communities in the U.S. The MMPI-2-RF T scores are non-gendered and non-K-corrected. No new norms were collected for the MMPI-2-RF.
Are there norms for different cultures for the MMPI-2-RF test?
American minorities are included in the normative sample. There are no separate cultural norms.
What is the FBS-r (Symptom Validity) Scale?
The FBS-r (Symptom Validity) Scale provides information regarding non-credible symptom reporting and has been found particularly useful in neuropsychological assessments. For more information about the FBS-r, visit: here
Are the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales in the MMPI-2-RF the same as the RC Scales in the MMPI-2?
Yes, they are identical. For more information about the RC Scales, visit: here
Are the MMPI-2-RF T scores K-corrected?
No. Recently published research indicates that the K correction does not enhance validity and in some cases validity is actually attenuated by the K correction. Non-K-corrected T scores allow interpreters to examine the relative contributions of the Clinical Scale raw score and the K correction to K-corrected Clinical Scale T scores. This information may be particularly helpful when the K score deviates substantially from the average T-score range (<39 or >65).
Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation Help and other Information
Why didn't I receive all of the references in the End Notes section of my MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report: Clinical Settings?
References are printed only for studies relied upon in generating correlate-based interpretive statements in a specific report. This enhancement was introduced in version 2.3 of Q Local software. An up-to-date list of all MMPI-2-RF references can be found at: here.
Can the MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report serve as a complete and independent psychological report on a client?
No. As noted on each report, the statements contained in the narrative represent a professional-to-professional consultation and do not serve as an independent or "stand-alone" report. The following notice appears in the MMPI-2-RF reports: “The interpretive report is intended for use by a professional qualified to interpret the MMPI-2-RF. The information it contains should be considered in the context of the test-taker’s background, the circumstances of the assessment, and other available information.”
Can I exchange unused MMPI-2 report usages for MMPI-2-RF usages?
Yes. Please call us at 1-800-627-7271 to exchange unused MMPI-2 usages on your Q Local software. The MMPI-2 Extended Score Report can be exchanged for the MMPI-2-RF Score Report, and the MMPI-2 Adult Clinical System, Personnel System, Reports for Forensic Settings, and Criminal Justice and Correctional Report can be exchanged for the MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report one-for-one at no additional charge.
Can I print an MMPI-2 report and an MMPI-2-RF report for the same test-taker?
The “MMPI-2 to MMPI-2-RF Conversion Program” (included with Q Local software versions 2.2 and higher) translates data from a scored/processed MMPI-2 administration to create an MMPI-2-RF administration. An MMPI-2-RF usage will be required to generate the MMPI-2-RF report for the test-taker’s administration.
Can I administer an “abbreviated” MMPI-2 test (first 370 items only) and get an MMPI-2-RF report?
No. The MMPI-2-RF is composed of items throughout the entire MMPI-2 test booklet.
Where can I find further information about the MMPI-2-RF Interpretive Report?
The MMPI-2-RF User's Guide for Reports is available from NCS Pearson, Inc.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2008). MMPI-2-RF User's Guide for Reports. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Where can I find information about the content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity of the MMPI-2-RF instrument?
The manuals for the MMPI-2-RF are available from NCS Pearson, Inc.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2008). MMPI-2-RF Manual for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Tellegen, A., & Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2008). MMPI-2-RF Technical Manual. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Are there tables in the MMPI-2-RF manuals converting MMPI-2 item ordering to MMPI-2-RF item ordering and vice versa?
Yes, in Appendix E of the MMPI-2-RF Manual for Administration, Scoring, and Interpretation (2008).
Can adolescents take the MMPI-2 or MMPI-2-RF assessments and receive valid results?
MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF administrations to individuals younger than 18 are not scorable. The MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF normative samples include individuals 18 years and older. We recommend using the MMPI-A assessment with adolescents because the age range for the MMPI-A normative sample is 14–18.
Are all MMPI-2-RF scales copyrighted?
Yes.
Should I use the MMPI-2-RF instrument in light of the recent ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and Civil Rights Act?
Pearson cannot offer legal advice; we recommend that you seek the opinion of competent employment counsel to ensure that you obtain the most appropriate advice for your individual circumstances. The apparent impact of the ADA on the use of the MMPI-2-RF instrument relates to the timing of the administration. Because the MMPI-2-RF instrument appears to be classified as a medical examination under the ADA, it must be administered subsequent to a conditional offer of employment being tendered by an employer. Under the Civil Rights Act of 1991 ("CRA") it is inappropriate to use tests with either race or sex norms in the employment domain. The MMPI-2-RF norms are not based on race or sex.