Four-Month Test-Retest Reliability of the MMPI-2 With Normal Male Clergy

Abstract

This investigation examined the test-retest coefficients and absolute score changes with the Basic, Supplementary, and Content scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). Participants were 111 active male clergy who were not receiving mental health services at the time of their participation and who completed the MMPI-2 on two occasions separated by 4 months. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance for the three groups of scales revealed nonsignificant changes in mean T scores. In general, the test-retest coefficients obtained were similar to those reported in the MMPI-2 manual by Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, and Kaemmer (1989) and by Spiro, Butcher, Levenson, Aldwin, and Bosse (1993). Increases or decreases of 3 to 6 T-score points were observed for the majority of the scales, and instances in which T-score changes exceeded 10 points were observed on every scale. In sum, the test-retest reliability of the majority of MMPI-2 scales, as represented in this nonclinical sample, appears acceptable and compares favorably with the original MMPI.