Leone, Mosticoni, Ianella, Biondi, and Butcher’s (2018) Effort to Compare the MMPI-2-RF with the MMPI-2 Falls Well Short

Authors

  • Yossef Ben-Porath, Ph.D. Kent State University
  • Auke Tellegen University of Minnesota

Abstract

Leone, Mosticoni, Iannella, Biondi, and Butcher’s (2018) comparison of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF in a clinical sample falls well short of its goals. On the basis of analyses conducted with a sample of patients clinically diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Depressive Disorders, Somatic Symptom Disorders, or Borderline Personality Disorder the authors conclude that the MMPI-2-RF is less sensitive to psychopathology and is susceptible to gender bias. However, their study fails to meet basic requirements for sound research methodology and reporting of research findings. Even if these shortcomings are set aside, the findings reported are inconsistent with or contradict the authors’ conclusions, many of which have already been rebutted in previous publications, which they ignored. Leone et al.’s (2018) discussion fails to acknowledge the many limitations of their study and veers to a tangential and misleading consideration of MMPI-2-RF use and research.

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Published

2018-03-18