Comparing the Ability of MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF Validity Scales to Detect Feigning: A Meta-Analysis

Several meta-analyses of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) have examined these instruments’ ability to detect symptom exaggeration or feigning. However, limited research has directly compared whether the scales across these two instruments are equally effective. This study used a moderated meta-analysis to compare 109 MMPI-2 and 41 MMPI-2-RF feigning studies, 83 (56.46%) of which were not included in previous meta-analyses. Although there were differences between the two test versions, with most MMPI-2 validity scales generating larger effect sizes than the corresponding MMPI-2-RF scales, these differences were not significant after controlling for study design and type of symptoms being feigned. Additional analyses showed that the F and Fp-r scales generated the largest effect sizes in identifying feigned psychiatric symptoms, while the FBS and RBS were better at detecting exaggerated medical symptoms. The findings indicate that the MMPI-2 validity scales and their MMPI-2-RF counterparts were similarly effective in differentiating genuine responders from those exaggerating or feigning psychiatric and medical symptoms. These results provide reassurance for the use of both the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF in settings where symptom exaggeration or feigning is likely. Findings are discussed in the context of the recently released MMPI-3.

Detecting Negative Response Bias Within the Trauma Symptom Inventory–2 (TSI-2): a Review of the Literature

This systematic review was performed to summarize existing research on the symptom validity scales within the Trauma Symptom Inventory–Second Edition (TSI-2), a relatively new self-report measure designed to assess the psychological sequelae of trauma. The TSI-2 has built-in symptom validity scales to monitor response bias and alert the assessor of non-credible symptom profiles. The Atypical Response scale (ATR) was designed to identify symptom exaggeration or fabrication. Proposed cutoffs on the ATR vary from ≥ 7 to ≥ 15, depending on the assessment context. The limited evidence available suggests that ATR has the potential to serve as measure of symptom validity, although its classification accuracy is generally inferior compared to well-established scales. While the ATR seems sufficiently sensitive to symptom over-reporting, significant concerns about its specificity persist. Therefore, it is proposed that the TSI-2 should not be used in isolation to determine the validity of the symptom presentation. More research is needed for development of evidence-based guidelines about the interpretation of ATR scores.

Development and Validation of a Child Physical and Sexual Abuse Prevention Scale

Objective: School-based child abuse primary prevention programs are delivered across the country; however, a validated measurement tool that is feasible to deliver to students is unavailable. The purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of a measurement tool for knowledge and skills related to the primary prevention of child physical and sexual abuse. Methods: Two elementary schools and 404 students participated. Students completed 5 instruments: the Play it Safe!® scale, 2 scales related to abuse prevention, and 2 unrelated scales. For assessment of the convergent and divergent validity, correlations were estimated and corresponding p-values in SAS version 9.4. Results: For the Play it Safe!® scale, the mean score was 10.87 out of 14 potential points (SD = 2.73; higher scores = higher knowledge). The internal consistency of the scale was adequate with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.77. We found strong correlations for the 2 convergent validity scales, and weak correlations for the 2 divergent validity scales. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the divergent and convergent validity of a child abuse primary prevention knowledge scale that can be used in school-settings and can assist in the measurement of primary prevention knowledge.

A-177 Classification Statistics of the Clinical Assessment of Attention Deficit – Adult (CAT-A) Negative Impression Scale for ADHD Evaluations in an Active Duty Sample

Objective To evaluate the classification statistics of the Clinical Assessment of Attention Deficit – Adult (CAT-A) Negative Impression (NI) scale, relative to the MMPI-2-RF in an active duty military sample. We hypothesized that MMPI-2-RF RBS would have the largest AUC. Method Retrospective review of 108 active duty service members consecutively referred to neuropsychology for clinical ADHD evaluations in a Midwest Army Health Center. Cases with missing data (10) and failures of MMPI-2-RF response consistency scales (3) were removed from analysis, resulting in final sample of 95. Average age was 32.62 (SD = 8.87) and average education was 14.66 (SD = 2.66). MMPI-2-RF symptom validity scales (F-r, Fp-r, Fs, FBS-r, and RBS) were employed as criterion measures at all standard cut-offs to evaluate the CAT-A NI scale. Results ROC analyses for the MMPI-2-RF over-reporting symptom validity scales ranged from 0.599 to 0.808, with the MMPI-2-RF RBS scale >79 demonstrating the lowest AUC (0.599; p 52. With specificity held at or above 0.90, sensitivities ranged from 22.86 to 60.00, with positive and negative predictive values ranging from 11.1 to 58.8 and 66.7 to 98.8, respectively. Conclusions The CAT-A NI scale demonstrated reasonable AUC values for nearly all MMPI-2-RF over-reporting scales. Psychologically-based over-reporting scales were superior to cognitively-based over-reporting scales in terms of classification statistics. The optimal cut in the current data (>52) is slightly higher (though roughly commensurate) to the cut score for atypical responses in the CAT-A manual (>45).

Knack et al. [2021] Preprint Faking paper

Self-report psychopathy scales are increasingly used in research and practice despite criticisms that they may be susceptible to response distortion and bias. We assessed the utility of including the Virtuous Responding (VR) and Deviant Responding (DR) validity scales from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) for identifying underreporting and overreporting, respectively, on both the full and short-form versions of the Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP 4 and SRP-SF) in a pre/post experimental design. Using a sample of 384 male community members and a clinical comparison group of 99 males from a forensic outpatient program, we demonstrated that SRP scores were more susceptible to overreporting than underreporting, and that overreporting significantly and negatively affected convergent validity. Finally, baseline psychopathy scores were unrelated to successful response distortion (i.e., changing scores in correct direction while remaining undetected by the validity scales). It is recommended that assessments using self-report psychopathy scales consider including validity indices to detect response distortion. In doing so, it will be important to consider that general impression management may be conceptually distinct from specific forms of response distortion, such as the intentional amplification or minimization of psychopathic traits.