AN ESTIMATE AND COMPARISON OF MMPI AND MMPI-2 CONCURRENT VALIDITY - PREDICTING DSM-III-R DIAGNOSES AMONG COLLEGE-STUDENTS

The ability of the MMPI and MMPI-2 to identify persons who were either free or not free from DSM-III-R-defined psychopathology was assessed and compared. University students completed either the MMPI (N = 388) or the MMPI-2 (N = 302) along with a computerized version of the Diagn ostic Interview Schedule, which was scored according to the criteria o f the DSM-III-R. MMPI profiles were categorized with several different rules as being within normal limits or not. DSM-III-R status served a s the criterion variable, and 189 (27%) study participants met criteri a for a current axis I disorder. Although MMPI profiles were more elev ated than MMPI-2 profiles, the proportion of profiles categorized as e ither normal or abnormal did not differ. Both the MMPI and MMPI-S demo nstrated a statistically reliable degree of relation with the broadly applied DSM-III-R standard of current disorder or not. Predictive rela tionships were modest. The variance in DSM-III-R-measured psychopathol ogy accounted for by MMPI or MMPI-2 categorizations averaged r(2) = .1 2. Contrary to hypotheses, our results did not demonstrate improved MM PI-2 discrimination.