Further Examining the Construct Validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) Personality Disorder Spectra Scales.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) Personality Disorder (PD) Spectra scales reflect a recent effort to dimensionally measure Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5-based personality disorders. Initial studies generally support the sound psychometric properties of most scales, although the need to continue cross-validating and expanding the known empirical correlates of these scales remains. The goal of the current investigation was to replicate and extend previous research on MMPI-2-RF PD Spectra scale scores and further examine their construct validity. Using a sample of 765 undergraduate students (69.3% female; Mage = 19.95; 73.3% White), zero-order correlations between scores on MMPI-2-RF PD Spectra scales and measures of personality and psychopathology variables were calculated. Median convergent and discriminant correlations were compared using Fisher's r-to-z tests. Results indicated that hypothesized convergent associations were meaningfully stronger in magnitude than hypothesized discriminant ones, with exceptions to scales measuring Obsessive-Compulsive, Narcissistic, and Paranoid PDs. Findings generally supported the construct validity of MMPI-2-RF PD Spectra scale scores. Implications for clinical practice and research, methodological limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.