An empirical examination of the correlates of well-defined and not definedMMPI-2 code types

This study examined the effects of profile definition on the correlates of 4 common MMPI-2 code types. Correlations for extratest descriptors judged t o be conceptually relevant to a code type were contrasted with those that w ere not relevant for profiles that were defined and those that were not def ined. Participants were 301 community mental health center outpatients who were part of a larger study concerning the use of the MMPI-2 in such settin gs (Graham, Ben-Porath, & McNulty, in press). The results suggest that conc eptually relevant code-type correlates tend to be stronger for defined code types. Although such descriptors can be used when interpreting profiles th at are not well defined, they are less likely to apply.