A cross-cultural examination of the MMPI-2-RF Substance Abuse scale: Comparing samples from Mexico and the United States.

摘要

Although there are decades of research pertaining to MMPI instruments, there is presently a dearth of literature related to the MMPI-2-RF. Among its numerous significant differences, the MMPI-2-RF does not utilize the MMPI-2's multiple scales for detecting substance abuse, and instead relies exclusively on a single scale known as Substance Abuse (SUB). To date, the only published MMPI-2-RF study involving substance abuse involves the publication manual's comparative sample of Veterans Affairs (VA) male inpatients. There are also no published studies that involve the cross-cultural analysis of the MMPI-2-RF. This study aimed to augment the literature by examining the MMPI-2-RF data from two samples of males receiving inpatient substance abuse treatment, one from Mexico City (n = 63) and one from Redwood City, California (n = 63), which were also compared to the VA sample (n = 1,151). The data from these samples were analyzed across 5 MMPI-2-RF scales: SUB, Uncommon Virtues (L-r), Antisocial Behavior (RC4), Aggressiveness (AGGR-r), and Aggression (AGG). All three samples clinically elevated (T = 65 or greater) SUB, offering initial support for its utility in cross-culturally screening for substance abuse. T-tests revealed statistically significant differences between the Mexico City and California samples' mean T scores on SUB, L-r, AGGR-r, and AGG, all of which were higher for the Mexico City sample. The Mexico City sample also obtained statistically significantly higher scores than the VA sample on AGGR-r and AGG. The VA sample obtained statistically higher scores than the California sample on L-r, AGGR-r, and AGG. In an exploratory analysis, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Mann-Whitney U test revealed statistically significant differences between the Mexico City and California samples on 21 of the remaining 45 scales, with the Mexico City sample obtaining higher scores on every scale except one Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.