NCJ Number
75435
Date Published
1977
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) for assessing the personalities of blacks was examined.
Abstract
The study hypothesized that marked differences would exist between the test profiles and their interpretations for black and white 'normal populations' and that the 'normal' black profile would approximate the hospitalized or institutionalized white profile, due to the inability of both tests to correctly diagnose the black population. If the hypotheses are correct, those blacks who have been institutionalized on the basis of test interpretations could have been wrongly incarcerated. The subjects were 35 black undergraduate students at two Georgia colleges: 27 took the MMPI and the CPI, and 8 others took only one of the tests. A comparison of the profiles of those who took both tests revealed that they could be viable means of prediction in the black community if they were properly standardized for that subgroup. However, the profiles of black subjects on both tests are grossly distorted toward the abnormal. This distortion is probably due to the differences in socialization among the black and white populations and in the structure of the English language as spoken by most black people. New profile sheets should be constructed by taking blacks' average raw scores on each scale for both tests and using these as the norm raw scores for blacks. This would give equal T-scores for both blacks and whites and would eliminate the difficulties of trying to develop culture-free tests. Related studies are reviewed, and a 5-item bibliography is provided. Data tables are not included.