Original scientific paper
The efficiency of MMPI-2 validity scales in detecting malingering of mixed anxiety-depressive disorder
Tamara Kopf
; Logos - Centre for psychological counseling, education and research, Osijek
Slavka Galić
; County Hospital Požega, Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology
Krunoslav Matešić
orcid.org/0000-0003-3568-2892
; Catholic university of Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the efficiency of the validity scales (F, Fb, Fp, F-K, K, L, S, VRIN and TRIN) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in the detection of malingering mixed anxiety-depressive disorder and the possibility of differentiating between groups of persons with mixed anxiety-depressive disorder and persons instructed to malinger the mixed anxiety-depressive disorder on the basis of basic and content scales. The participants in the study were 47 persons diagnosed with mixed anxiety-depressive disorder and 47 female psychology students who received a description of the mixed anxiety-depressive disorder as well as information on the MMPI-2 validity scales. The students were asked to malinger the mixed anxiety-depressive disorder and to do so in such a manner as to avoid detection. The results of discriminant analysis have shown that the validity scale Fp is the most effective in revealing malingered profiles, followed by the Fb scale, the F-K index and the F scale. The S, K and VRIN scales revealed a lower negative correlation with the discriminant function, which was expected in view of their purpose (fake good). The accuracy of the classification based on the validity scales results was very high (97.9% of persons with anxiety-depressive disorder and 97.9% of malingerers were correctly classified). The L and TRIN scales were not found to be significant in differentiating between the malingerer’s profiles and those of persons with the disorder. Discriminant analysis was used to determine the possibility of differentiating profiles from the basic scales and content scales, where the content scales LSE, SOD and TRT and the basic scales Si and Pd proved to be the most efficient in differentiating between malingerer profiles and those of persons with anxiety-depressive disorder. The accuracy of classifying the malingerer’s profiles and those of persons with anxiety-depressive disorder based on basic scale and content scale results was also high (91.5% of persons with anxiety-depressive disorder and 97.9% of students were correctly classified).
Keywords
malingering; mixed anxiety-depressive disorder; MMPI-2; validity scales; basic scales; content scales
Hrčak ID:
160022
URI
Publication date:
16.6.2016.
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