Use of the MMPI-2 in medico-legal evaluations: An alternative interpretation for the Senior and Douglas (2001) critique

Abstract

The MMPI-2 is the most widely used clinical assessment instrument, in part, because it is the most widely researched instrument. One of the values of a well-established test such as the MMPI-2 is that past clinical interpretation strategies and underlying research documentation effectively guide the user in broad test applications. In a recent article, Senior and Douglas (2001) called into question traditional interpretive strategies and proposed their own approach to test interpretation. The present article reviews Senior and Douglas's (2001) rationale, methods, conclusions, and recommendations and concludes that their interpretative approach is inconsistent and unsupported by the data they cited.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank John R. Graham for comments that he made on an early draft of this article.

Notes

This article is based on a keynote address by the first author given at the 8th Conference of the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists, Queensland, Australia, October, 2002.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

JN Butcher

This article is based on a keynote address by the first author given at the 8th Conference of the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists, Queensland, Australia, October, 2002.