James N. Butcher's research while affiliated with University of Minnesota Duluth and other places
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Publications (151)
The fourth edition of the Handbook of Psychological Assessment, provides scholarly overviews of the major areas of psychological assessment, including test development, psychometrics, technology of testing, and commonly used assessment measures. Psychological assessment is included for all ages, with new coverage encompassing ethnic minorities and...
The adaptation of psychological tests that were developed in one language and country into a different language and culture is expanding in contemporary international psychological assessment. This chapter addresses the need for psychological tests to be carefully developed in order to be effectively employed in cultures and languages different fro...
The objectives of this study were to assess differences in premigration, transit, and resettlement stressor exposure and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms as a function of demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, ethnicity, age, time in United States) and to examine the concurrent and longitudinal relations between stressor exposure...
This online resource for mental health practitioners presents a variety of information required in daily practice in one easy-to-use resource. Covering the entire spectrum of practice issues–from diagnostic codes, practice guidelines, treatment principles, and report checklists, to insight and advice from today's most respected clinicians–this peer...
"Incremental Validity of the MMPI-2 Content Scales in the Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology by Self-Report" / Y. S. Ben-Porath, E. McCully, and M. Almagor
"Contribution of the MMPI-2 Content Scales to the Differential Diagnosis of Schizophrenia and Major Depression" / Y. S. Ben-Porath, J. N. Butcher, and J. R. Graham / Indicates that...
Summarizes the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and its revised forms MMPI-2 and MMPI-A, in forensic settings and highlights the test characteristics (psychometric features) that support its use in forensic evaluations. The authors examine the similarities and differences among the various forms of the MMPI to compare...
Toward the end of her article addressing the prevalence of MMPI-2 Scale 4 elevations among child custody litigants, Ellis recommended use of the MMPI-2-RF scales in child custody evaluations. Unfortunately, this recommendation was not supported by a comprehensive review of the literature similar to the one she used to address her primary questions...
This chapter describes the ways in which computers can be and are used in personality assessment and the equivalence of computer-administered tests to traditional assessment methods. The text delineates and illustrates the development of computer-based personality narratives and discusses the validity of computerized narrative reports. The discussi...
This book provides a comprehensive view of the field of personality assessment from its historical roots to the major, methodological issues defining the field and that have led to numerous approaches and applications, and to the broad range of assessment techniques available today. One can find throughout history an awareness of the importance of...
This study assessed whether a simple, readily implemented four-symptom somatic screen would be able to effectively identify current posttraumatic stress symptoms in victimized populations.
The sample consisted of 622 Somali community-dwelling refugees who fled widespread violence and trauma occurring in East Africa during 1990-1992. Data were colle...
Objective: This study assessed whether a simple, readily implemented foursymptom somatic screen would be able to effectively identify current posttraumatic stress symptoms in victimized populations. Methods: The sample consisted of 622 Somali community-dwelling refugees who fled widespread violence and trauma occurring in East Africa during 1990-19...
Purpose was to assess whether a 4-symptom somatic screen, shown to correlate with current post-traumatic stress symptoms in 1 refugee group, could function as a screening instrument in another group of refugees. Sample consisted of 512 community-dwelling refugees from Ethiopia. Data collection included demography, types of torture and nontorture tr...
The historical basis of personality assessment that led to the development of today's approaches and applications is described. The modern era of personality assessment began in late nineteenth-century Europe. Early twentieth-century highlights included the development of projective techniques like the Rorschach and several early self-report invent...
The Fake Bad Scale (FBS; Symptom Validity Scale) has fundamental psychometric flaws, interpretive problems, and potentially
adverse societal consequences that are not appreciated by Ben-Porath et al. (Psychological Injury and Law 2(1), 62–85, 2009a, b). The FBS was constructed without due consideration to scientifically based guidelines for scale d...
Personality assessment has become an integral component in clinical and forensic psychological practice. Moreover, practitioners have increasingly come to rely on computers in conducting personality assessments by using them to assist in conducting clinical interviews; obtaining self-reports of symptoms, attitudes, and behavior; summarizing and int...
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)-2 is the most widely used personality inventory in clinical, forensic, and personnel assessment settings. It is a self-report personality inventory based upon items that address mental health symptoms, personality traits, and behavioral characteristics. The MMPI-2 provides mental health profess...
The question as to whether the MMPI-A can be appropriately used to assess a 13- year-old adolescent has been addressed in past research on the test. This study was designed to provide information on the adequacy of administering the personality inventory to 13-year-old Mexican adolescents; in addition, the current Mexican MMPI-A norms were examined...
Based on a focused review and careful analysis of a large amount of published research, Butcher et al. (Psychol Inj and Law
1(3):191–209, 2008) concluded that the Fake Bad Scale (FBS) does not appear to be a sufficiently reliable or valid measure of the construct
“faking bad”. Butcher et al. (Psychol Inj and Law 1(3):191–209, 2008) pointed out exam...
ABSTRACT. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is the
most widely used and researched clinical personality assessment instrument in personnel
selection. This instrumental study addresses the comparability of the MMPI-2 in
assessing Spanish-speaking employees to the performance of English-speaking employees.
A sample of 332 Pue...
In this article, we examine 5 criticisms of Tellegen, Ben-Porath, and Sellbom (2009/this issue) about our study demonstrating the redundant relationships of the Restructured Clinical (RC) scales with extant MMPI–2 scales. We discuss differences in univariate versus multivariate comparisons of the RC scales and our “proxy” scales using their data. W...
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is the most widely used personality test in psychological practice. Although originally developed during the middle of the last century in the United States, its use today extends around the world. The MMPI-2 is a robust measure given its strong empirical tradition and many innovations. Rec...
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is the most widely used personality assessment instrument in research and clinical practice. This article orients new users to the test and highlights a number of current issues with the test that may also be of interest to experienced users. It briefly illustrates the development of MMPI-2...
The Fake Bad Scale (FBS), developed to identify malingering of emotional distress among claimants seeking compensation for
personal injuries, was recently added to the MMPI-2 scoring materials, resulting in its widespread dissemination across the
various clinical settings that use the MMPI-2 in psychological evaluations. We examine: (1) questions o...
The Restructured Clinical (RC; Tellegen et al., 2003) scales were developed to improve measurement of the core constructs of the MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 2001) Clinical scales by removing "demoralization," hypothesized to affect these scales adversely. Using 25 samples with MMPI-2 responses from 78,159 subjects across diverse clinical settings, we f...
The computer has been used to administer, score and interpret psychological tests in a number of countries throughout the world. This paper traces early work in the United States, Great Britain and continental Europe and reviews the current international status of computer-assisted psychological testing. Several problems with transporting existing...
This paper reports a study identifying the demographic characteristics, self-reported trauma and torture prevalence, and association of trauma experience and health and social problems among Somali and Oromo women refugees.
Nearly all refugees have experienced losses, and many have suffered multiple traumatic experiences, including torture. Their v...
Persons of Hispanic origin are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. Practitioners involved in personality assessment will undoubtedly work with Hispanic clients who may be grappling with low English proficiency and other challenges of acculturation to U.S. society. Written by frontline experts in the use of the Minnesota Multipha...
The MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) Clinical Scales have a long history in psychological assessment. Recently, Tellegen et al. (2003) conducted a series of analyses to restructure the scales to reduce what they considered to be problems that limit scale functioning. In a critique of the Restructured Clinical (RC) Scal...
Assessment emerged during the early twentieth century with the development of tests for assessing characteristics such as intelligence, personality, and suitability for employment. The long, interwoven relationship between clinical psychology and assessment began to change during the 1970s when many clinical psychologists became more involved in be...
Chapter 24 reviews information and issues vital to those who use the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents (MMPI-A) in forensic assessments, as well as to those (e.g., attorneys) who encounter its use in forensic contexts. The focus is on the MMPI-A, but the chapter also includes information relevant to conducting forensic eva...
Most professional forensic resources address the assessment of adults yet neglect the necessary differences that arise when working with minors. Forensic Mental Health Assessment of Children and Adolescents presents the reader with essential knowledge and practical suggestions regarding the forensic assessment of minors involved in a variety of leg...
Mental health practitioners have long wondered whether there is a common core to psychopathology or whether mental illness is largely culturally based. Mental health problems could result primarily from cultural factors. Yet, many professionals have observed the similar ways psychiatric disorders become manifest regardless of the unique cultural an...
One of the first innovations in objective assessment in Cuba was the translation of the original MMPI from English to Spanish. The Spanish language translation was the product of a personal association between Drs. Starke Hathaway, one of the originators of the MMPI, and Idelfonso Bernal del Riesgo. The MMPI was used in a number of clinics in Cuba...
Self-report plays a primary but not exclusive role in pain assessment. As is true of all self-reported experiences, under certain circumstances, the report of chronic pain can be distorted and misrepresented. There are unique challenges associated with the detection and assessment of malingering or self-report distortion in the evaluation of chroni...
In contemporary psychology, personality assessment knows few national or cultural boundaries. Psychological tests developed in one country are often translated and adapted into cultures that might appear to be greatly different from the country of origin. In this article, I address the factors that are important to international test adaptation and...
To describe war-related trauma history, immigration factors, problems, and coping of Somali and Oromo refugee youth.
Analysis of a subset of participants (N = 338) aged 18-25 years from a population-based survey of Somali and Oromo refugees conducted in 2000-2002. Data included trauma history, life situation, and scales for physical (Cronbach alpha...
In order to understand patterns of respondents on validity and clinical scales, this study analyzed archival Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2s (MMPI-2s) produced by 192 women and 14 men who initiated legal claims of ongoing emotional harm related to workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. The MMPI-2s were administered as a part...
This cross-sectional, community-based, epidemiological study characterized Somali and Ethiopian (Oromo) refugees in Minnesota to determine torture prevalence and associated problems.
A comprehensive questionnaire was developed, then administered by trained ethnic interviewers to a nonprobability sample of 1134. Measures assessed torture techniques;...
Computerized testing methods have long been regarded as a potentially powerful asset for providing psychological assessment services. Ever since computers were first introduced and adapted to the field of assessment psychology in the 1950s, they have been a valuable aid for scoring, data processing, and even interpretation of test results. The hist...
The MMPI-2 is the most widely used clinical assessment instrument, in part, because it is the most widely researched instrument. One of the values of a well-established test such as the MMPI-2 is that past clinical interpretation strategies and underlying research documentation effectively guide the user in broad test applications. In a recent arti...
We evaluated sampling strategies and trust-building activities in a large multiphase epidemiologic study of torture prevalence in populations that were difficult to locate and enroll. Refugee groups under study were Somalis from Somalia and Oromos from Ethiopia who were living in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1999-2002. Without a complete...
Psychological tests developed in the United States are being widely adapted into other languages and cultures around the world. This article examines the generalizability and utility of personality assessment instruments across cultures and addresses methodological issues related to using personality questionnaires in countries different from the o...
The Fake Bad Scale (FBS [Psychol. Rep. 68 (1991) 203]) was created from MMPI-2 items to assess faking of physical complaints among personal injury claimants. Little psychometric information is available on the measure. This study was conducted to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the FBS using MMPI-2 profiles from six settings: Psychi...
Research in behavior genetics has documented assortative mating with respect to physical, demographic, sociocultural, and personality variables. The present study examined patterns of dyadic similarity on personality characteristics reflected on MMPI-2 items and scales in a sample of 982 couples. MMPI-2 scales with high dyadic correlations appear t...
This article examines the cross-national application of psychological tests and examines the generalizability of objective psychological assessment instruments. The most widely used and internationally adapted personality instrument, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2), is highlighted to illustrate the adaptation of psychologic...
This article has been retracted at the request of the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, and authors. Please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).Reason: Copyright concerns have been raised with regard to Table I of the original article, which Elsevier and the authors find to be unfounded. N...
In this invited autobiography, I present an account of some influential events and experiences in my life that led me eventually, after some false starts, to a career in personality assessment psychology. The psychological research and applied areas (self-report personality assessment and cross-cultural research) with which I have been identified f...
Computer-based psychological assessment has come far since it began to evolve over 40 years ago. Many practitioners use some computer scoring and computer-based interpretation and consider computer-assisted test interpretation to be an ethical professional activity. The application of computerized methods has broadened both in scope and in depth. H...
The Hispanic MMPI-A was developed for use with Spanish-speaking adolescents living in the United States. In order to sample its potential usefulness in other countries, the test was administered to 385 Spanish-speaking adolescents in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and the United States. The results showed a high degree of similarity across the five...
The responsibility that airline pilots have toward the safety of passengers is immense. Airline pilots are likely to be among the most reliable and psychologically problem-free populations. Yet, psychological problems can and do occur among persons who pursue this occupation although the actual extent is unknown. Personality disorders, substance ab...
In this chapter, we examined cultural influences on various aspects of psychopathology—assessment, incidence and prevalence
rates, symptom expression, meaning, prognosis, and treatment. Our review illustrates what we know and what we still have to
learn about the cultural shaping of mental illness. We look forward to future research that will advan...
This article presents the results of the norms for the Mexican general population in comparison with the North American normative population. This study addresses psychopathology from the point of view in which emic and etic traditions are combined. The Mexican sample includes 1744 adults from different regions of the country. Means and standard de...
Research has shown that when the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) is administered with instructions designed to make people aware of the validity indexes and when people are encouraged to respond honestly rather than invalidate the test through defensiveness, their scores on validity scales suggest a more candid respon...
International case study using the MMPI-A.
Some types of psychological tests become dated and require more frequent and more extensive revision than others. Because of the formidable effort that is required in a test revision, the goals and scope of the revision need to be carefully staked out before a revision is undertaken. The revision team needs to develop a generally agreed-upon guidin...
We compared MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) profiles of 2 groups of adult biological men requesting sex reassignment surgery; 1 group was diagnosed with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) transsexualism and the other with gender ide...
This article revisits the classic empirical manifesto written by Meehl in 1945, and examines subsequent developments in structured personality assessment. The current status of personality assessment from an empirical-scale-development perspective is presented, with examples drawn from recent work on the MMPI-2. Meehl's heuristic defense of empiric...
Computers have been important to applied psychology since their introduction, and the application of computerized methods has expanded in recent decades. The application of computerized methods has broadened in both scope and depth. This article explores the most recent uses of computer-based assessment methods and examines their validity. The comp...
This paper presents the results of a study of the Mexican Spanish version of the MMPI-2 with a clinical sample of 233 patients who were diagnosed as having psychological disturbances or personality disorders, according to DSM-III R criteria. Inpatient scores were obtained from four psychiatric hospitals, located in Mexico City. The scores of the pa...
This paper presents the results of a study of the Mexican Spanish version of the MMPI-2 with a clinical sample of 233 patients who were diagnosed as having psychological disturbances or personality disorders, according to DSM-III R criteria. Inpatient scores were obtained from four psychiatric hospitals, located in Mexico City. The scores of the pa...
Item response theory (IRT) provides valuable methods for the analysis of the psychometric properties of a psychological measure. To date, however, these methods have not been used frequently by personality assessment researchers, in part because many researchers have not been introduced to the methods and in part because most of the development of...
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) contains 3 scales, the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale - Revised (MAC-R), the Addiction Potential Scale (APS), and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS), that were developed to identify alcohol and drug abusing individuals. The current study was designed to measure the effectiveness of these...
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 (MMPI—2) contains 3 scales, the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale—Revised (MAC—R), the Addiction Potential Scale (APS), and the Addiction Acknowledgement Scale (AAS), that were developed to identify alcohol and drug abusing individuals. The current study was designed to measure the effectiveness of these s...
Undergraduates' attitudes toward engaging in psychotherapy and experiences with therapy were evaluated (N=388). The survey is presented and discussed. Data were related to MMPI-2 scores and the Butcher treatment Planning Inventory to determine whether symptom expression is related to a reluctance to seek therapy. Results show a varied openness to t...
The cross-cultural use of objective instruments to assess personality and psychopathology has increased markedly in recent times. The most widely used clinical personality inventory in international settings is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI/MMPI-2.) The present article describes the procedures characteristically followed by...
Current epidemiological data indicate that head injury is the most common acute neurological disorder in the United States (Kraus & Sorenson, 1994). These data also indicate that head injuries vary considerably in severity. Although a number of alternative indices are available, the most well-accepted indicator of initial head injury severity is th...
Great changes are taking place in mental health treatment, because health care providers are placing constraints on therapists. Yet psychologists have been slow to react to these demands and have not incorporated personality measurement in treatment planning to address therapeutic effectiveness. Many therapists initiate therapy without obtaining a...
The MMPI-2 is often used for screening job applicants when public safety or security are at risk. Inherent in such applications is concern for profile validity and test defensiveness. In this study, we examine the impact of revised instructions on profile validity for a group of job applicants who initially produced invalid profiles. Participants w...
The purpose of this study was (a) to evaluate the ability of the existing validity indices of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) in detecting faking. bad and faking-good profiles, (b) to differentiate between two strategies for faking-good (denial and claiming extreme virtue), (c) to determine the effectiveness of the new MMPI...
This volume is devoted to an examination of the use of objective personality assessment, particularly with the MMPI-2, in providing treatment relevant psychological test information. A number of scholars provide a current view of how psychological test information can be incorporated into mental health services in an era in which abbreviated treatm...
Citations
... The concept of "positive change expectation", one of the aforementioned concepts, is mainly examined in the medical and health science literature (Avitia, 2014;Tschacher, 2014;Zarbo vd., 2016;Hoyer and Baum, 2008;Gürsel, 2012;Klump and Butcher, 1997). ...
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... The child's age, the child's characteristics, and the child or parent's special needs, child's reactions related to contact (and possible reactions related to restriction on contact), and the collaborative climate in the case are all important elements of this decision (Haugli, 2000). By clearly defining what special needs the child has and assessing this against the parent's ability to meet the child's needs within a shorter or longer period of time (Sparta and Koocher, 2006), this tends to support rather than reject their right to work towards reunification. ...
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... Therefore, the ideal distracter would require an optimal amount of attention involving multiple sensory modalities (visual, auditory and kinesthetic), active emotional involvement and participation of the patient to compete with the signals from the noxious stimulus. (91) Distraction is a simple practical inexpensive psychological pain management technique that has the potential to remain effective over several repeated procedures. The aim of technique is to capture the child's interest during the procedure. ...
... Different studies have analysed the relationship between risky conduct while driving and personality (Constantinou et al., 2011;Martí-Belda et al., 2019), antisocial conduct (Butcher et al., 2015;Gallardo & Andrés, 2009;Shechory et al., 2011) or alcohol abuse (Hilterman et al., 2012); which are predictor variables of its recidivism (Gugliotta, 2018;Herraiz et al., 2011;Monrás et al., 2011). A higher prevalence has been found for ethylic dependence in people convicted of road safety crimes (Faílde-Garrido et al., 2016;Valero, et al., 2017). ...
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... The evaluation of PD in prisons also relies on five legal purposes: a) competency to stand a trial, (b) criminal responsibility, (c) dangerousness, (d) presentence, and (e) risk and recidivism assessments. The competency to stand a trial assessment addresses inmates' current state of mind and whether they can understand their charges to assist their attorney in defense Butcher et al., 2015). Criminal responsibility assessments address the prisoner's mental state at the time of committing an offense with intent, recklessness or negligence . ...
... If there was any disagreement between the two translators, a third opinion was sought from a senior bilingual psychologist. The final version was approved by both translators (Butcher, Hass, Greene, & Nelson, 2015). ...
... By searching PsycNET for 'fake bad scale' during the years 1988 (the year of the Lees-Haley publication in question) through 2015 (the year of the Nichols and Gass publication), 117 articles were identified, including Lees-Haley et al. (1991). Of these publications, including six with Lees-Haley as author or co-author, only one (reflecting less than 1%; Butcher, Hass, Greene, & Nelson, 2015) lists Lees-Haley's LRS paper as a reference. A similar search for 'litigation response syndrome' over the same period yielded 10 entries, and of these, four (i.e. ...
... We recognize the divergence of opinion, whether the MMPI-2-RF should be viewed as a revision or a separate but related measure (see, e.g.,Butcher et al. 2015). 2 Please note that F was originally developed as a measure of carelessness for which this comparison to the normative sample would be entirely relevant. ...
... With the rise in reported ADHD and ASD, it is important to continue examining the effectiveness of the mental health profession's clinical assessments to assess and interpret diagnosis of pediatric disorders (Atlis, Hahn, & Butcher, 2006;Butcher, 2006;Matthews et al., 2014). Gamified digital assessments have potential to provide objective measures to supplement clinicians' interviews and self-report survey measures, which require extensive time to ...
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... To develop the IDPI-11 scales and their corresponding items, a combination of theoretical and statistical test development methods was used: (a) the rational theoretical method for all the IDPI-11 scales, (b) the item response theory (IRT) for item calibration, (c) a sequential system for the development of construct-oriented scales for the elaboration of the scales of the IDPI-11 Traits subgroup, (d) content grouping with statistical refinement, and (e) a priori designation (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2020a;Williams et al., 2019). The rational theoretical method is based on the judgment of the creators of the instrument, and their understanding of psychopathology, for both the elaboration and selection of items. ...
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