A comparison of the MMPI-2 computer-based test interpretation systems (CBTIs) of borderline personality disorder

Computer Based Test Interpretative Systems (CBTIs) are commonly used by mental health professionals to obtain a better understanding of their client's psychopathology and personality disposition (Harrington, 1999). A review of the literature has shown there are at least eight CBTIs for the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory- 2 (MMPI-2). Previous studies have examined the validity and utility of CBTIs among a general psychiatric population. However, research has failed to compare these interpretive systems for individuals with Borderline Personality disorder (BPD). The present compared four CBTIs of the MMPI-2, including BehaviorData (BD), Pearson Assessments (PR), Pearson-Restructured Form (PR-Rf) and Caldwell Report (CR). The purpose of the present study was to compare the four CBTI's on a 12 dimension scale based on advanced clinical psychology graduate students' ratings. These results suggest user-ratings had found PR received the highest overall ratings whereas the BD received the lowest. Overall, PR report has received most favorable ratings across nine of the twelve dimensions. In practice, consumers should consider variability within BPD as related to their codetype elevations. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.