Abstract
This chapter introduces the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) and provides considerations for its use in forensic psychological evaluations. We start with a brief historical overview of the MMPI instruments, culminating in the development of the MMPI-3. We describe the 52 scales of the test and general psychometric properties, including how research on previous MMPI versions can inform MMPI-3 interpretation. The remainder of our chapter focuses on considerations when using the MMPI-3 for various forensic applications, including competency to stand trial, criminal responsibility, violence risk assessment, mental injury and disability, and family court evaluations. We end the chapter with conclusions and future directions for MMPI-3 research to inform use of the test in forensic settings.
Yossef S. Ben-Porath is an author of the MMPI-3 and receives royalties from its sales. Yossef Ben-Porath, Martin Sellbom and Dustin Wygant are also paid consultants to the University of Minnesota Press, publisher of the MMPI instruments. All authors also receive research funding from the MMPI test publisher.
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Further Reading Suggestions
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Sellbom, M. (2021). Interpreting the MMPI-3. University of Minnesota Press.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2020). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3): Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation. University of Minnesota Press.
Ben-Porath, Y. S., & Tellegen, A. (2020b). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3): Technical manual. University of Minnesota Press.
Sellbom, M., & Wygant, D. B. (2018). Forensic applications of the MMPI-2 restructured form: A case book. University of Minnesota Press.
Tarescavage, A. M., Glassmire, D. M., & Burchett, D. (2016). Introduction of a conceptual model for integrating the MMPI-2-RF into HCR-20V3 violence risk assessments and associations between the MMPI-2-RF and institutional violence. Law and Human Behavior, 40, 626–637.
Wygant, D. B., Walls, B. D., Brothers, S. L., & Berry, D. T. R. (2018). Assessment of malingering and defensiveness on the MMPI-2 257 and MMPI-2-RF. In R. Rogers & S. D. Bender (Eds.), Clinical assessment of malingering and deception (pp. 257–279). The Guilford Press.
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Sellbom, M., Wygant, D.B., Tarescavage, A.M., Ben-Porath, Y.S. (2022). Using the MMPI-3 in Forensic Psychological Assessments. In: Garofalo, C., Sijtsema, J.J. (eds) Clinical Forensic Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80882-2_26
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