The Detection of Feigned Psychiatric Disorders Using the MMPI-2-RF Overreporting Validity Scales: An Analog Investigation

Abstract

Individuals who are motivated to feign psychological problems to achieve a desired outcome (e.g., insanity defense) may overreport symptoms of psychopathology, with type of pathology being dependent on the setting. In the current investigation, we examined the utility of the overreporting validity scales (infrequent responses [F-r], infrequent psychopathology responses [F P -r], infrequent somatic responses [Fs], and symptom validity [FBS-r]) on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008) to detect research participants instructed to simulate one of three mental disorders: major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia (SCH), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The restructured clinical (RC) and overreporting validity scale scores of bona fide psychiatric patients with a primary diagnosis of either MDD, SCH, or PTSD were compared to two groups of simulators-naïve (i.e., undergraduate students with no training in mental disorders) and sophisticated (i.e., individuals with advanced training in psychopathology or personal experience with the disorder asked to overreport symptoms). Examination of the RC Scale profiles revealed that the sophisticated simulators produced symptom profiles more similar to the profiles of the psychiatric patients than did the naïve simulators. For the overreporting validity scales, the sophisticated simulators were less likely to be detected as feigning compared to the naïve simulators; overall, the validity scales were able to distinguish patients from simulators and accurately classify most of the simulators regardless of their level of "symptom" sophistication. Examination and comparison of the validity scales revealed that across disorders and level of research participant symptom sophistication, the F P -r scale best differentiated simulators from patients.

Posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans: The utility of the MMPI–2–RF validity scales in detecting overreported symptoms.

“…These results are consistent with findings from previous studies, which have indicated that Fp-r has shown utility in detecting feigned symptoms of psychopathology even when individuals have been coached (e.g., Sellbom & Bagby, 2010) or have previously met criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD (e.g., Marion et al, 2011). The current study indicated that while effect sizes associated with F-r and Fp-r scores were lower for detecting sophisticated simulators than for naive simulators, they were still of large magnitude.…”

“…These scales have also shown utility in detecting overreported symptoms even when individuals are coached about the presence and purpose of validity scales (Sellbom & Bagby, 2010). Furthermore, the validity scales on the MMPI-2-RF have shown utility in detecting overreporting of specific disorders, including PTSD (Marion, Sellbom, & Bagby, 2011).…”

“…Marion et al (2011) examined the utility of the MMPI-2-RF validity scales in detecting overreporting of PTSD by comparing scores between patients diagnosed with PTSD and two groups of simulators asked to feign PTSD: undergraduate students and individuals who had been previously diagnosed with PTSD but who no longer met diagnostic criteria. Marion et al (2011) examined the utility of the MMPI-2-RF validity scales in detecting overreporting of PTSD by comparing scores between patients diagnosed with PTSD and two groups of simulators asked to feign PTSD: undergraduate students and individuals who had been previously diagnosed with PTSD but who no longer met diagnostic criteria.…”

Framing the Results: Assessment of Response Bias Through Select Self-Report Measures in Psychological Injury Evaluations

“…In an examination of the ability of over-reporting scales to distinguish feigned major depressive disorder (MDD), schizophrenia, or PTSD from genuine psychiatric patients, Marion, Sellbom, and Bagby (2011) found that the scales were able to distinguish simulators from actual patients. Specifically, they were able to identify most simulators regardless of the sophistication of their training.…”

The Generalizability of Overreporting Across Self-Report Measures: An Investigation With the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2–Restructured Form and the Personality Assessment Inventory in a Civil Disability Sample

“…Previous research has examined and provided support for the utility of all five of the MMPI-2-RF overreporting Validity Scales in a variety of contexts, including exaggeration of emotional symptoms and feigned severe psychiatric disorders (Goodwin, Sellbom, & Arbisi, 2013;Marion, Sellbom, & Bagby, 2011;Mason et al, 2013;Rogers, Gillard, Berry, & Granacher, 2011;Sellbom & Bagby, 2010;Sellbom, Toomey, Wygant, Kucharski, & Duncan, 2010), as well as in civil litigation, disability evaluations, and criminal forensic settings (Gervais, Ben-Porath, Wygant, & Green, 2008;Gervais, Wygant, Sellbom, & Ben-Porath, 2011;Schroeder et al, 2011;Sellbom, Wygant, & Bagby, 2012;Tarescavage, Wygant, Boutacoff, & Ben-Porath, 2013;Wygant et al, 2009;Wygant et al, 2010;Wygant et al, 2011;Youngjohn, Wershba, Stevenson, Sturgeon, & Thomas, 2011). Burchett and Ben-Porath (2010) examined the impact of overreporting response styles on MMPI-2-RF substantive scale scores.…”