Development of a K-correction Factor for the MMPI-A
In 1992, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Adolescent (MMPI-A) was developed to meet the unique experiences and needs of adolescents. Despite evidence that adolescents often demonstrate response biases in taking the MMPI-A, currently there is no method to systematically "correct" for the effect of test-taking attitude on profile configuration with this age group. The K-correction factor has been widely used to correct for defensiveness or underreporting of symptomatology on the MMPI among adult respondents, although results of cross-validation research on the effectiveness of the K-correction factor have been inconclusive. The present study derived age-appropriate K-weights to determine the degree to which adoption of those weights could improve test accuracy in the identification of psychopathology. This study also examined the accuracy of the MMPI-A clinical scales in classifying adolescent normals and psychiatric patients. Discriminant analyses were performed to determine the K-weight scale score combination which best predicted normal versus clinical status for each of the eight clinical scales. Hit rate analyses were used to assess whether the adoption of these K-weights would result in improved classification accuracy. Results indicated that adoption of a K-correction factor did not improve test accuracy and did not support future use of a K-correction factor in scoring MMPI-A protocols.
K-correction factor, MMPI-A, Personality and Social Contexts, Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Psychology
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