Empirical correlates of low scores on MMPI-2 scales in an outpatient mental health setting

The meaning of low scores on some Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) scales was examined by comparing therapist descriptors of 669 mental health outpatients (274 men, 425 women) who scored high (T > 64), within normal limits (T = 41-64), or low (T < 41) on each scale. Results showed that for most scales both high and low scores provided potentially important information about clients. Traits of high scorers were consistent with previous research, The meaning of low scores differed among scales: For some, low scores did not give any useful information; for other, low scorers had fewer symptoms and negative characteristics than scorers within normal limits. Sometimes these characteristics were specifically related to the constructs the scales were designed to measure; other times they meant better overall adjustment. For no scale did a low score indicate more negative characteristics or poorer adjustment than a within normal limits score.