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The validity and clinical utility of the MMPI-2 Malingering Depression scale

R Michael Bagby1, Margarita B Marshall, Jason R Bacchiochi

  • 1Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. michael_bagby@camh.net

Journal of Personality Assessment
|December 2, 2005
PubMed

Insights

The Malingering Depression (Md) scale on the MMPI-2 effectively detects feigned depression. However, it offers minimal advantage over existing validity scales like F(B) and F/F(P) for identifying malingered depression.

Area of Science:

  • Psychological assessment
  • Clinical psychology
  • Forensic psychology

Background:

  • The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is a widely used tool for psychological assessment.
  • Detecting feigned depression is crucial in clinical and forensic settings.
  • Existing MMPI-2 validity scales (F, F(B), F(P)) are used to identify response distortion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the validity and clinical utility of the MMPI-2 Malingering Depression (Md) scale.
  • To compare the Md scale's effectiveness against MMPI-2 F scales (F, F(B), F(P)) in detecting feigned depression.
  • To determine if the Md scale offers incremental validity over existing F scales.

Main Methods:

  • The study examined the predictive validity of the MMPI-2 Md scale.
  • Comparison was made between the Md scale and MMPI-2 F scales (F, F(B), F(P)) in identifying feigned depression.
  • The incremental validity of the Md scale was assessed.

Main Results:

  • The F(B) scale and the F/F(P) scale combination demonstrated strong predictive power for feigned depression.
  • The Md scale successfully discriminated between feigned and bona fide depression.
  • While the Md scale added some predictive capacity, the increase in correctly identified cases was minimal.

Conclusions:

  • The MMPI-2 Md scale possesses predictive validity for detecting feigned depression.
  • The Md scale does not provide a significant incremental advantage over the standard MMPI-2 F, F(B), and F(P) validity scales.
  • Existing F scales remain valuable tools for identifying malingered depression.

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