title: MMPI-2 validity scores in defense- versus plaintiff-selected examinations: a repeated measures study of examiner effects.
abstract: The effects of forensic examiner role on validity scores have rarely been studied empirically. We used a repeated measures design to examine the association between examiner role (plaintiff- and defense-selected neuropsychologists) and scores on eight Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-2 validity scores (MMPI-2-VRIN, -TRIN, -L, -K, -F, -Fb, -Fp, and -FBS) of the same 80 individuals. All 80 were involved in litigation following mostly minor neurological injuries. We found no significant within-group differences on any of the MMPI-2 validity scales. Concordance of pass/fail rates between examinations was above 80%, except for MMPI-2-Fb. For example, the Symptom Validity Scale (MMPI-2-FBS) showed equivalently high failure rates (70%) during both examinations. This study does not support the view that examiner role affects symptom validity scores in forensic settings.
authors.affiliation: Psychological Systems, Inc., Royal Oak, MI, USA. mfgreiff@comcast.net
authors.forename: Manfred F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Greiffenstein
authors.forename: W John
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: William T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Tsushima
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boone
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States