Using the MMPI-2-RF to Assess Risk of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury among College Students

Abstract

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), the deliberate destruction of one’s own body tissue without suicidal intent, is a prevalent problem linked to adverse outcomes. Many assessment tools designed to assess for NSSI risk are limited by their behavioral focus, which does not cover the numerous affective, cognitive, and interpersonal correlates. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) is a widely used inventory of personality and psychopathology that assesses a range of empirical correlates of NSSI risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of the MMPI-2-RF for assessing these NSSI-related constructs. On the basis of a review of the literature and item content, we pre-identified MMPI-2-RF measures of constructs associated with NSSI risk. Correlations between scores on these scales and the number of methods of NSSI identified several meaningful results, including some small but consistent gender differences in these associations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression analyses indicated that scores on some expected MMPI-2-RF scales independently predicted NSSI variability. Relative risk ratio analyses demonstrated the potential clinical utility of MMPI-2-RF scale scores for assessing risk of engagement in NSSI. These findings indicate that the MMPI-2-RF may be a useful tool for assessing risk for NSSI among college students.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Authors’ note

The statements made in this article are those of the authors.

Disclosure statement

Yossef Ben-Porath is a paid consultant to the University of Minnesota Press and Pearson. As coauthor of the MMPI-2-RF, he receives royalties on sales of the test. Yossef Ben-Porath receives research funding from the MMPI-2-RF test publisher, the University of Minnesota Press.

Notes

1 A low internal consistency estimate for DSHI scores in the current study is not unexpected as individuals who self-injure using one method would not necessarily be expected to use all 15 other NSSI methods queried.

2 Converting Spearman’s rho to Pearson coefficients prior to calculating Fisher’s z has been studied using Monte Carlo simulation methods and has been found to be robust, including with non-normally distributed data (Myers & Sirois, 2006; Rupinski & Dunlap, 1996).

Additional information

Funding

This research is grant funded by the University of Minnesota Press. The grant number is UMN0001252258.