Evaluating the MMPI-3’s utility in the assessment of pathological personality traits

This study examined the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) in the assessment of personality disorders (PDs). Participants included undergraduate students who were administered the MMPI-3 and the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5-Short Form (PID-5-SF) as a measure of dimensional pathological personality traits. We examined associations between the MMPI-3 and the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) of the DSM-5, with a particular emphasis on the MMPI-3 Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales. Results demonstrated MMPI-3 scales were largely convergent with both the PID-5 domain and facet scores. Given their conceptual overlap, we examined the joint factor structure of the MMPI-3 PSY-5 scales and the PID-5-SF trait facets and found strong empirical convergence of these conceptual models. The results provide a necessary update to personality assessment with the MMPI-3 and provide further insight into the use of the MMPI instruments in assessing personality psychopathology in the AMPD.