Abstract
The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP; Kotov et al., 2017, 2021) is offered as a dimensional alternative to traditional categorical diagnostic nosologies such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and International Classification of Diseases (ICD). HiTOP researchers have recently published an open-source assessment system for clinical implementation, the HiTOP Digital Assessment and Tracker (Jonas et al., 2021). Here, we argue that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3; Ben-Porath & Tellegen 2020a), given its structural similarities to HiTOP, can augment these efforts to shift the diagnostic paradigm, with the additional strength of being comprehensively validated, standardized, and normed. Sellbom et al. (2021) examined the factor structure of the MMPI-3 Specific Problems Scales (plus RC6 and RC8), finding a pattern of latent factors much like those proposed by HiTOP in both a general mental health sample and a prisoner sample. The present study is a partial replication of Sellbom et al. (2021) with a primary medical care outpatient sample (n = 164) and a college student sample (n = 529). A sequential factoring approach yielded emergent structures that are comparable to the HiTOP model. These findings with different and important samples support the generalizability of the MMPI-3 in assessing HiTOP constructs.
Public Significance Statement
The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) reflects an increasingly popular view of psychological dysfunction and has been proposed as a useful alternative to traditional diagnostic systems. Here, we replicate analyses from recent research linking the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3), a widely used assessment tool, to the HiTOP model. Our findings add to the literature demonstrating that the MMPI-3 can be used to measure psychological dysfunction in a manner consistent with HiTOP.