title: The Infrequency-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale (Fptsd) for the MMPI-2: development and initial validation with veterans presenting with combat-related PTSD.
abstract: Researchers have identified difficulties associated with the use of traditional Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) validity scales with survivors of traumatic events. A new scale, the Infrequency-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale (Fptsd), was created from MMPI-2 items that were infrequently endorsed by 940 male combat veterans presenting for treatment at the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinics of 2 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. A variety of statistical methods were implemented that preliminarily established Fptsd's validity with a validation sample of 323 additional PTSD-diagnosed combat veterans. Results indicate that, relative to previously established validity and overreporting scales (F, Fb, and Fp), Fptsd was significantly less related to psychopathology and distress and better at discriminating simulated from genuinely reported PTSD. Clinical implications are discussed concerning the use of Fptsd to assess disability-seeking veterans suspected of overreporting PTSD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina 29401, USA.
authors.forename: Jon D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Elhai
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
authors.forename: B Christopher
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Frueh
authors.forename: Jean C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Beckham
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Michelle E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Feldman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D016544:Patient Simulation; D012372:ROC Curve; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*