The utility of the NEO-PI-R validity scales to detect response distortion: a comparison with the MMPI-2

In this psychometric study, we compared the recently developed Validity Scales from the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992b) with the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) Validity Scales. We collected data from clients (n = 74) who completed comprehensive psychological evaluations at a university-based outpatient mental health clinic. Correlations between the Validity Scales of the NEO-PI-R and MMPI-2 were significant and in the expected directions. The relationships provide support for convergent and discriminant validity of the NEO-PI-R Validity Scales. The percent agreement of invalid responding on the two measures was high, although the diagnostic agreement was modest (kappa = .22-.33). Finally, clients who responded in an invalid manner on the NEO-PI-R Validity Scales produced significantly different clinical profiles on the NEO-PI-R and MMPI-2 than clients with valid protocols. These results provide additional support for the clinical utility of the NEO-PI-R Validity Scales as indicators of response bias.