Exploring the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-3 in a transgender and gender diverse sample.

William T Bryant, Nicholas A Livingston, John L McNulty, Kurt T Choate, Elizabeth J Santa Ana, Yossef S Ben-Porath
Author Information
  1. William T Bryant: Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System. ORCID
  2. Nicholas A Livingston: Division of Behavioral Science, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Boston Healthcare System. ORCID
  3. Kurt T Choate: Department of Psychology and Counseling, Northeastern State University.
  4. Elizabeth J Santa Ana: Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System. ORCID
  5. Yossef S Ben-Porath: Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University. ORCID

Abstract

Comparisons of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals' mental health functioning with that of cisgender individuals rely almost exclusively on screening measures. The limited research with TGD individuals and omnibus assessment measures has primarily used previous iterations of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPIs). This study sought to examine the psychometric functioning of the MMPI-3 with a TGD community sample ( = 97) and compare mean scores across TGD and cisgender subsamples. We expected MMPI-3 substantive scale reliability to be comparable across all samples and subsamples. Individual MMPI-3 scales were expected to demonstrate appropriate convergent and discriminant validity with relevant criterion measures in the TGD sample. Results generally supported MMPI-3 scale score reliability and validity with TGD individuals. Next, three sets of mean score comparisons were conducted across all MMPI-3 substantive scales: (a) TGD individuals not currently in mental health treatment and the MMPI-3 normative sample, (b) TGD individuals not currently in mental health treatment and TGD individuals currently in mental health treatment, and (c) TGD individuals currently in mental health treatment and an outpatient mental health sample. Fewer differences were found between TGD individuals in our sample who were not currently in mental health treatment and the MMPI-3 normative sample compared to previous work. This initial study indicates that MMPI-3 scales largely have appropriate psychometric properties when administered to a TGD sample and that the test may be helpful in identifying mental health needs of TGD individuals. Needs and directions for further research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Grants

  1. /University of Tulsa
  2. /Society for Personality Assessment
  3. /Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations
  4. /Veterans Affairs Quality Scholars
  5. /Veterans Affairs Health Services Research Programs
  6. /University of Minnesota Press

MeSH Term

Humans
MMPI
Transgender Persons
Reproducibility of Results
Mental Health
Psychometrics

Word Cloud

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