A Meta-Analytic Review of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2nd Edition (MMPI-2) Profile Elevations Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Psychologists often use the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and, more recently, its successor, the MMPI-2, to assess personality and psychological disturbances following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The present meta-analysis examined the pattern of mean Hedges’ d values on MMPI-2 validity (L, F, K) and clinical (1–4, 6–0) scales in individuals with TBI. Database keyword searches yielded ten studies providing post-TBI MMPI-2 profiles. Studies were required to include a pure TBI sample, individuals who were ≥18 at injury, and means and standard deviations for most MMPI-2 clinical scales. Analyses showed large effects for MMPI-2 scales F, 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. Using Q statistics, moderating effects were found for TBI severity on scale 7 and for compensation-seeking/litigation status on scales 1, 2, 3, and 7. No significant effects were found for time post-injury. The available information was insufficient to examine the effect of lesion location, pre-injury personality and psychopathology, or time post-injury for samples with differing injury severities on MMPI-2 profiles. Results suggest that individuals with TBI report significant levels of psychopathology that may be moderated by TBI severity and compensation-seeking/litigation status. Discussion includes a literature critique given the meta-analytic findings and implications for future study of personality following TBI.