Date of Award

8-1-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education

First Advisor

Cynthia McRae, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Kathy Green

Third Advisor

Mary Gomez

Fourth Advisor

Monte Hasz

Keywords

Candidate assessment, Missionary, Missions, MMPI-2, Psychological assessment

Abstract

The present study examined MMPI-2 data of 377 missionary candidates who presented for psychological assessment at Missionary Care Services. The purpose of the study was to establish a normative profile for missionary candidates to enhance interpretive validity and reduce missionary attrition. Mean T scores were established for the missionary candidate sample on the F, L, and K validity scales and the ten Clinical Scales. Analyses were conducted to compare the mean T scores of the missionary candidate sample to the mean T scores of the nonclinical normative population of persons taking the MMPI-2 for employment purposes. For both males and females, 10 of the 13 scales analyzed were significantly different from the nonclinical normative population. Results indicated that caution is suggested in interpreting the K scale. Further implications for increasing interpretive validity are discussed. Analyses were conducted to assess trends for MMPI-2 profiles of the missionary candidate sample over time. Results indicated that the mean T score on the K Scale for candidates tested between 1992 and 2002 was significantly higher than the mean T scores for candidates tested between 2003 and 2006 and candidates tested between 2007 and 2010. Analyses were conducted to assess trends by date of birth. Results indicated that the mean T score on the K Scale for Generation Y candidates was significantly lower than the mean T scores for Baby Boomer and Generation X candidates. Results also indicated that the mean T score on Scale 1 for Baby Boomer candidates was significantly higher than the mean T score for Generation Y candidates. Implications of analyses by date of testing and date of birth for the missionary candidate assessment process are discussed. Future research is needed to further enhance the quality of the missionary candidate assessment process.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Jonathan Dimos

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

137 p.

Discipline

Psychology

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