Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 and Race in a Forensic Diagnostic Sample

• NCJ Number: 154050
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1995) Pages: 19-32
• Author(s): Y S Ben-Porath; D D Shondrick; K P Stafford
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study compared scores on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 of black and white men in a forensic sample of individuals undergoing court-ordered evaluations.

Abstract

The sample consisted of 153 white and 58 black men who were being evaluated to determine their competency to stand trial, as part of a presentence assessment, as part of a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity plea, or to determine drug dependency. The two groups did not differ in either the proportion of invalid MMPI-2 protocols or in their group mean scores on the validity scales. They also produced comparable mean clinical and substance abuse scores. Significant differences were found between white and black men on two of the 15 content scales, namely Cynicism and Antisocial Practices, with blacks scoring higher than whites. 5 tables, 2 notes, and 19 references