Evaluating cross-cultural equivalence of the Korean MMPI-2 via bilingual test–retest

Previous efforts to establish the cross-cultural equivalence of the Korean MMPI-2 have focused on analysis of internal structure and peer behavioral correlates using only a Korean college sample. The intent of this study was to provide further evidence of the cross-cultural equivalence of the Korean MMPI-2 using a bilingual test–retest method. Fifty-three self-reported bilinguals living in the US completed both the MMPI-2 in Korean and English within a 1-week interval. Their profiles were compared to previously established test–retest reliabilities. Cross-language correlations were sizable, but substantially lower than the published within-language test–retest correlations. However, when a proficient bilingual subsample was selected from the original sample post hoc, cross-language correlations were more similar to test–retest reliabilities. Cross-language item analysis revealed that items with simple and direct grammar had the highest item agreement. Complicated sentences, such as those containing double negatives or unique American idioms, had the least concordance.