Costruzione di una relazione collaborativa e apertura dei clienti ai test: un studio sull’MMPI-2

The clinical literature on Therapeutic Assessment asserts that collecting individualized assessment questions from clients at the beginning of an assessment helps them become involved in an assessment and sets the stage for the assessment to have a transformative effect. This study examined whether outpatients’ scores on the validity scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) varied as a result of whether they were asked to form individualized questions prior to test administration (n = 81) or took part in a traditional initial interview without being asked to give questions (n = 179). We also compared the MMPI-2 validity scale scores of clients who sought assessment voluntarily vs. those who were compelled to take the MMPI-2 as part of a child custody evaluation (n = 20). Our analyses showed that the Lie (L), Infrequency (F), and Correction (K) Scales of adult outpatients revealed statistically significant differences in the expected directions under three different conditions. Results suggest that the assessment is a vulnerable experience even for self-referred clients, and that the collection of assessment questions can promote their openness and cooperation with the process.