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Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory®-Adolescent
(MMPI®-A)
Age Range: 14-18 years
Reading Level: 4.9 grade (Lexile average), 4.4 grade (Flesch-Kincaid)
Other Languages: English, Spanish
Administration: Online administration, Computer, CD, paper and pencil
Completion Time: Approximately 60 minutes
Length: 478 True-False items
Norms: The MMPI-A normative sample consists of 1,620 adolescents (805 boys; 815 girls) between 14 and 18 years of age from several regions of the U.S., a balanced sample for region, rural-urban residence, and ethnicity.
Scoring Options: Q-global™ Scoring & Reporting, Hand Scoring, Q™ Local Software, or Mail-in Scoring Service
Report Options: MMPI-A Adolescent System Interpretive Reports, Extended Score Report
Publication Date: 1992 (Manual), 2006 (Manual Supplement)
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
Product Details
An empirically based measure of adolescent psychopathology, the MMPI-A test contains adolescent-specific scales, and other unique features designed to make the instrument especially appropriate for today’s youth. Offering reports tailored to particular settings, the MMPI-A test helps provide relevant information to aid in problem identification, diagnosis, and treatment planning for youth (ages 14–18).
How to Use This Test
School, clinical, and counseling psychologists can use this self-report inventory to help:
- Support diagnosis and treatment planning in a variety of settings.
- Identify the root causes of potential problems early on.
- Provide easy-to-understand information to share with parents, teachers, and others in the adolescent’s support network.
- Guide professionals in making appropriate referrals.
Key Features
- Item content and language are relevant for adolescents.
- At the psychologist’s discretion, the clinical scales and three of the validity scales can be scored from the first 350 items, a significant savings in administration time.
- Norms are adolescent-specific.
- Scales help address problems clinicians are likely to see with adolescents, including family issues, eating disorders, and chemical dependency.
Scales
Validity Indicators
(Extended Score Report and The Minnesota Report)
? - Cannot Say (reported as a raw score)
VRIN - Variable Response Inconsistency
TRIN - True Response Inconsistency
F1 - Infrequency 1
F2 - Infrequency 2
F - Infrequency
L - Lie
K - Correction
Clinical Scales
(All Reports)
1 (Hs) Hypochondriasis
2 (D) Depression
3 (Hy) Hysteria
4 (Pd) Psychopathic Deviate
5 (Mf) Masculinity–Femininity
6 (Pa) Paranoia
7 (Pt) Psychasthenia
8 (Sc) Schizophrenia
9 (Ma) Hypomania
0 (Si) Social Introversion
Clinical Subscales — Harris-Lingoes and Social Introversion Subscales
(Extended Score Report and The Minnesota Report)
Harris-Lingoes Subscales
D1 - Subjective Depression
D2 - Psychomotor Retardation
D3 - Physical Malfunctioning
D4 - Mental Dullness
D5 - Brooding
Hy1 - Denial of Social Anxiety
Hy2 - Need for Affection
Hy3 - Lassitude–Malaise
Hy4 - Somatic Complaints
Hy5 - Inhibition of Aggression
Pd1 - Familial Discord
Pd2 - Authority Problems
Pd3 - Social Imperturbability
Pd4 - Social Alienation
Pd5 - Self-Alienation
Pa1 - Persecutory Ideas
Pa2 - Poignancy
Pa3 - Naiveté
Sc1 - Social Alienation
Sc2 - Emotional Alienation
Sc3 - Lack of Ego Mastery, Cognitive
Sc4 - Lack of Ego Mastery, Conative
Sc5 - Lack of Ego Mastery, Defective Inhibition
Sc6 - Bizarre Sensory Experiences
Ma1 - Amorality
Ma2 - Psychomotor Acceleration
Ma3 - Imperturbability
Ma4 - Ego Inflation
Social Introversion SubScales
Si1 - Shyness/Self-Consciousness
Si2 - Social Avoidance
Si3 - Alienation–Self and Others
Content Scales
(Extended Score Report and The Minnesota Report)
A-anx - Anxiety
A-obs - Obsessiveness
A-dep - Depression
A-hea - Health Concerns
A-aln - Alienation
A-biz - Bizarre Mentation
A-ang - Anger
A-cyn - Cynicism
A-con - Conduct Problems
A-lse - Low Self-Esteem
A-las - Low Aspiration
A-sod - Social Discomfort
A-fam - Family Problems
A-sch - School Problems
A-trt - Negative Treatment Indicators
Content Component Scales
(Extended Score Report and The Minnesota Report)
A-dep1 - Dysphoria
A-dep2 - Self-Depreciation
A-dep3 - Lack of Drive
A-dep4 - Suicidal Ideation
A-hea1 - Gastrointestinal Complaints
A-hea2 - Neurological Symptoms
A-hea3 - General Health Concerns
A-aln1 - Misunderstood
A-aln2 - Social Isolation
A-aln3 - Interpersonal Skepticism
A-biz1 - Psychotic Symptomatology
A-biz2 - Paranoid Ideation
A-ang1 - Explosive Behavior
A-ang2 - Irritability
A-cyn1 - Misanthropic Beliefs
A-cyn2 - Interpersonal Suspiciousness
A-con1 - Acting-Out Behaviors
A-con2 - Antisocial Behaviors
A-con3 - Negative Peer Group Influences
A-lse1 - Self-Doubt
A-lse2 - Interpersonal Submissiveness
A-las1 - Low Achievement Orientation
A-las2 - Lack of Initiative
A-sod1 - Introversion
A-sod2 - Shyness
A-fam1 - Familial Discord
A-fam2 - Familial Alienation
A-sch1 - School Conduct Problems
A-sch2 - Negative Attitudes
A-trt1 - Low Motivation
A-trt2 - Inabilitiy to Disclose
Supplementary Scales
(Extended Score Report and The Minnesota Report)
MAC-R - MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale–Revised
ACK - Alcohol/Drug Problem Acknowledgment
PRO - Alcohol/Drug Problem Proneness
IMM - Immaturity
A - Anxiety
R - Repression
PSY-5 (Personality Psychopathology Five) Scales
AGGR - Aggressiveness
PSYC - Psychoticism
DISC - Disconstraint
NEGE - Negative Emotionality/Neuroticism
INTR - Introversion/Low Positive Emotionality
Special Indices
(All Reports)
Welsh Code
Percent True and False
Response Percentages
Psychometric Information
The normative sample of the MMPI-A test consists of 805 adolescent males and 815 adolescent females from eight communities in the U.S. The sites were chosen to maximize the probability of obtaining a balanced sample of subjects according to geographic region, rural/urban residence, and ethnic background.
Scoring
Interpretive Report
This comprehensive report helps provide an objective psychological picture of the adolescent through scale scores, special indices, and narrative statements.
Based on extensive experience in MMPI and MMPI-2 research and clinical practice, authors James N. Butcher, PhD, and Carolyn L. Williams, PhD, provide information on the following:
- Symptomatic Behavior
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Behavioral Stability
- Diagnostic and Treatment Considerations
- A list of omitted items and suggested items for follow-up
The report presents the following scales:
- Validity and Clinical Scales profiled and interpreted
- Content Scales profiled and interpreted
- Supplementary Scales profiled with alcohol/drug scales interpreted
- PSY-5 Scales profiled and interpreted
- Clinical Subscales (Harris-Lingoes and Social Introversion Subscales) (reported only)
- Content Component Scales (reported only)
Sample Reports
Specialized reports are available for the following settings:
Correctional Interpretive Report
General Medical Interpretive Report
Inpatient Mental Health Interpretive Report
Outpatient Mental Health Interpretive Report
Drug/Alcohol Treatment Interpretive Report
Extended Score Report
This report provides raw and T scores for all standard MMPI-A scales as well as the PSY-5 Scales, Content Component Subscales, and critical items.
Sample Report
Basic Service Report
The Basic Service Report has been discontinued. See the MMPI-A Extended Score Report or the MMPI-A-RF Score Report for alternatives most similar to the Basic Service Report.
Scoring and Reporting Options
Q-global™ Web-based Administration, Scoring, and Reporting – Enables you to quickly assess and efficiently organize examinee information, generate scores, and produce accurate comprehensive reports all via the Web.
Q Local™ Scoring and Reporting Desktop 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 Pearson and are processed within 24–48 hours of receipt; results returned via regular mail.
Manual Scoring - Administer assessments on answer sheets and score them yourself with answer keys and profile/record forms.
Training
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Getting Started with the Q-global Training Series
View these brief training modules about Q-global:
FAQs
Questions
Frequently asked questions follow. Click on a question to see the response.
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I am getting scores but no profile on an MMPI-A report for a 13-year-old. Is it valid?
The MMPI-A instrument was developed for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 (normative group). It may be appropriate to assess 13-year-olds if they are mature enough to answer the items meaningfully and if they read at the requisite level. Because 13-year-olds were not included in the normative sample, the scores are shown but are not plotted in the Extended Score Report. However, the scores are plotted on The Minnesota Report.
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What are the demographic default values for an MMPI-A administration?
The Adolescent System Interpretive Report defaults to the following demographic if it is omitted: Setting: Outpatient.
Test Date, Birth Date, ID Number, and Gender must be filled in. The software will not print any type of report without this information. Age is calculated from the Test Date and Birth Date.
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Where can I find information on the critical items for the MMPI-A test?
Additional information on the development of the standard set of critical items for the MMPI-A test can be found in A Critical Item Set for the MMPI-A and Supplement to the MMPI-A Manual (University of Minnesota Press). This test monograph and manual supplement are available from Pearson (product numbers 29430 and 25036). Critical items are included in the Minnesota Report and the Extended Score Report.
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Is there a section in the MMPI-A manual that compares the MMPI, MMPI-2, and MMPI-A items?
Yes. In Appendix E, there is a list of similar items on the three assessments. A dash in the table indicates that the item is not on that particular assessment.
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What is F1?
F is a validity scale measuring more bizarre responses (i.e., responses chosen by less than 10% of normal people). F1 is like F on the MMPI-2 test, and F2 is like FB on the MMPI-2 test. F is the average of those two (F1 and F2). For more information, see the MMPI-A manual.
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Why does the TRIN scale have a "T" or an "F" plotted above the mean (50T) on the profile?
T is printed when the raw score is greater than 9, and F is printed when the raw score is less than or equal to 9. See the MMPI-A manual for more information about the TRIN scale.
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What is the difference between the Depression scale in the Clinical Scales and the Depression scale in the Content Scales?
The Depression scale in the Clinical Scales is a heterogeneous measure of depression (it measures more than one facet of depression). This scale was developed on psychiatric patients with various forms of symptomatic depression. The Depression scale in the Clinical Scales measures discomfort and dissatisfaction with life, characterized by poor morale, lack of hope in the future, denial of happiness and self-worth, withdrawal, psychomotor retardation, and other facets of symptomatic depression.
The Depression scale in the Content Scales measures only one facet of depression, self-reported depressive thoughts.
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What effect does age have on MMPI-A scores?
The MMPI-A instrument was developed for young people between the ages of 14 and 18 (normative group).
Clinicians administering the MMPI-A instrument to clients 12 or 13 years old should be aware that they are using the instrument with an age group that has a higher incidence of difficulty with the assessment and therefore they should be cautious in their interpretations. The MMPI-A instrument is probably developmentally inappropriate for children under 12.
Normative and clinical samples for both the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-A instruments include 18-year-olds, so the clinician should make a case-by-case judgment about which assessment to use with 18-year-old clients. A suggested guideline would be to use the MMPI-A instrument with 18-year-olds who are still in high school and the MMPI-2 instrument with 18-year-olds who are in college, working, or living an otherwise independent adult lifestyle.
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How do I enter an Abbreviated MMPI-A test in Q Local software?
To facilitate an Abbreviated MMPI-A test administration, all of the items needed to score the 10 Clinical Scales and 3 Validity Scales L, F1, and K appear within the first 350 items. To enter an Abbreviated MMPI-A test in Manual Entry, simply enter a “2” for “Abbreviated” under “Type” in the demographics. Enter the client’s responses to the first 350 items of the test only, then save and print. To administer an Abbreviated MMPI-A test in On-Screen Entry, choose “Abbreviated” in the administrator demographics when this option appears. The On-Screen administration will end after the first 350 items are administered.
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What scales can be scored if only the first 350 items are administered?
Clinical, validity (L, F1, K), and clinical subscales (Harris-Lingoes and Si subscales).
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If I have a client answer the first 350 items and choose to print an Extended Score Report, will I have scorable validity indicators (L, F1, K), clinical scales, and clinical subscales (Harris-Lingoes and Si subscales)?
Yes. These scales will be scorable, but any scales with items that fall beyond 350 will not be complete (e.g., more recent validity indicators, content scales, supplementary scales).
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Where can I find information on the PSY-5 Scales and Content Component Scales for the MMPI-A test?
PSY-5 (Personality Psychopathology-Five) Scales and Content Component Scales were added to the MMPI-A Extended Score Report and hand-scoring materials in 2006 and to The Minnesota Report in 2007. A manual supplement is available that contains information on these newly released scales. This manual supplement is available from Pearson (product number 25036).
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