Psychometric characteristics of the Russian version of MMPI-2

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the comparison of the second version of the MMPI and its first version, as well as its existing Russian modifications and to the description of the results of the MMPI-2 approbation. The distinct advantages of the second version are comparability with the original version, reliability, validity and representativeness of the data and the additional wide range of diagnostic opportunities offered by the inclusion of content, supplementary and restructured scales, as well as additional correction scales. Approbation is conducted in six regions of Russia with centers in Barnaul, Moscow, Perm, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Tver, Tomsk with the permission of Minnesotta University. The normative sample is 1,237 subjects (22.7% male). The results demonstrate functional and metric equivalence, and – with some restrictions – scalar equivalence of the Russian version of MMPI-2 to the U.S. original version. The differences are due to the greater readiness of Russian subjects to aggravate and to answer questions inconsistently as compared to U.S. subjects. These differences are independent of the subjects’ gender, age and region of residence and seem to be related to some cultural factors that require further research.