An examination of differences between native and non-native psychiatric offenders on the MMPI.

Abstract
MMPI scores of 57 native and 218 non-native Canadian Prairie psychiatric offenders were compared. In uncontrolled comparisons, considerable cross-cultural profile similarity was observed. Nevertheless, natives displayed significantly higher scores on L, F, and Hs (p < .05), and tended towards significance on Sc (p < .08). Natives scored significantly lower on Mf. Next, separate native and non-native multiple regressions were performed, using the 13 MMPI scales as criterion variables with age, time served, education level, WAIS full scale IQ, and Verbal Comprehension as the predictors. Average R2''s of .26 (ns) and .17 (p < .001) were observed for natives and non-natives, respectively. WAIS full scale IQ and education level were the strongest predictors of native and non-native MMPIs, respectively. When controlled MMPI comparisons were made using IQ and education as covariates, the previous differences were erased. Profile similarity was still evident. With covariates, significantly lower native scores were found on Mf, Pa, and Si, while K was significantly higher. The lowered native profile was due primarily to the IQ covariate. It was concluded that the MMPI was valid for use with native offenders where consideration is given to the seconday effects of IQ and the limited influence of culture.