| Summary: | <p> According to Culturally Appropriate and Valid Psychological Assessments for Ethical Use with American Indians (CVE) as cited on the website of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, 26.6% of the state’s Native American population who complete a diagnostic assessment take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2nd edition (MMPI-2) in any given year. As such, a pertinent question is whether the MMPI-2 is an appropriate tool for assessing personality for this population. Nichols (2011) stated that the practicing clinicians who participated in the study failed to use research on cultural influences that may elevate the clinical and validity scale on the MMPI-2 with a specific ethnic population. In addition, Butcher and Williams (1999) stated that the MMPI-2 did not include an adequate normative representation of Native Americans. Furthermore, Butcher and Williams (1999) also stated that most studies about the MMPI-2 and Native Americans have shown numerous methodological flaws. Despite these flaws, proponents of the MMPI-2 continued to maintain that the use of the instrument is culturally valid, and it continues to be the most used personality assessment instrument with Native Americans (Butcher, 2009; Butcher & Williams, 1999). The focus of this qualitative study was to provide a detailed view of six clinicians’ experiences in administering the MMPI-2 with Native Americans and their use of cultural information to interpret the profile. Using thematic analysis, the results yielded seven themes that were categorized in three distinct domains: A) trauma informs the responses to MMPI-2, B) awareness of clients’ cultural belief system by the clinicians, and C) clinicians’ awareness of their own cultural competence and sensitivity.</p>
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