MMPI-370 - Cross-Examining Psych Doctors, Tip #90

The MMPI-370 is a shortened version of the MMPI-2 that is analogous to the MMPI-168.  Like the MMPI-168, the MMPI-370 is not a “test” in and of itself but a particular use of the MMPI-2 that has some serious problems.  The MMPI-370, as the name implies, involves administering the first 370 questions of the MMPI-2.  This allows for the scoring of the Lie Scale, the F Scale, the K Scale, the F-K Scale or Index and the 10 basic clinical scales.  If you assume that the MMPI-2 is a valid and reasonable instrument to use, the scoring of these scales may be acceptable in a general clinical practice where it can be assumed that the person does not have a deviant test-taking attitude.  However, in a medical-legal context this is not a reasonable assumption and it is necessary to score at least the F(p) Scale, the F(Back) Scale, the VRIN Scale and the Revised Dissimulation Scale to determine if the person is responding in an honest and frank manner and not attempting to simulate dysfunction.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to score these scales if the person responds to only the first 370 items on the MMPI-2.  Therefore, the MMPI-370 is virtually useless in forensic circumstances.