Examination of the MMPI-2 restructured form (MMPI-2-RF) validity scales in civil forensic settings: findings from simulation and known group samples

Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2009 Nov;24(7):671-80. doi: 10.1093/arclin/acp073. Epub 2009 Sep 28.

Abstract

The current study examined the effectiveness of the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath and Tellegen, 2008) over-reporting indicators in civil forensic settings. The MMPI-2-RF includes three revised MMPI-2 over-reporting validity scales and a new scale to detect over-reported somatic complaints. Participants dissimulated medical and neuropsychological complaints in two simulation samples, and a known-groups sample used symptom validity tests as a response bias criterion. Results indicated large effect sizes for the MMPI-2-RF validity scales, including a Cohen's d of .90 for Fs in a head injury simulation sample, 2.31 for FBS-r, 2.01 for F-r, and 1.97 for Fs in a medical simulation sample, and 1.45 for FBS-r and 1.30 for F-r in identifying poor effort on SVTs. Classification results indicated good sensitivity and specificity for the scales across the samples. This study indicates that the MMPI-2-RF over-reporting validity scales are effective at detecting symptom over-reporting in civil forensic settings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cognition Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Deception
  • Disability Evaluation
  • Female
  • Head Injuries, Closed / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • MMPI*
  • Male
  • Malingering / diagnosis*
  • Memory Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Mental Recall / physiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Patient Simulation
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity