Validating the usefulness of the NSI validity-10 with the MMPI-2-RF

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Clinical Assessment

Background:

• The Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) is a 22-item self-report measure for Post-concussive Syndrome symptoms.
• A 10-item subset, the Validity-10, was developed to detect symptom overreporting.
• Assessing symptom validity is crucial in traumatic brain injury (TBI) evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the accuracy of the NSI Validity-10 subset versus the remaining NSI items (Remaining-12) in detecting symptom exaggeration.
• To evaluate the utility of the NSI Total Score in identifying exaggerated symptom reporting.
• To assess symptom exaggeration using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Second Edition - Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) as a criterion.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 45 veterans from a Polytrauma/TBI Clinic completed the NSI and MMPI-2-RF.
• Correlational analyses examined the relationship between NSI scores and MMPI-2-RF validity scales.
• Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses were performed to assess detection accuracy for symptom overreporting.

Main Results:

• NSI Total Score, Validity-10, and Remaining-12 scores all showed strong correlations with MMPI-2-RF validity scales, indicating equivalent performance.
• ROC analyses revealed comparable areas under the curve for NSI Total Score (.84), Validity-10 (.81), and Remaining-12 (.81) in detecting overreporting.
• No significant difference was found in the ability of the Validity-10 versus the Remaining-12 to detect symptom exaggeration.

Conclusions:

• The Validity-10 does not possess unique utility as an embedded symptom validity scale within the NSI.
• The NSI Total Score is equally effective as the Validity-10 in detecting symptom exaggeration.
• The full NSI can reliably serve the function of a symptom validity measure in clinical TBI assessments.