Contrasting MMPI-3 validity scale effectiveness differences across in-person and telehealth administration procedures

Area of Science:

• Psychological assessment
• Clinical psychology
• Forensic psychology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of telehealth for psychological assessments.
• Changes in assessment modalities necessitate re-evaluating the effectiveness of existing psychometric tools.
• Limited research directly compares overreporting scale performance in telehealth versus in-person settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of overreporting scales in simulated feigning conditions between telehealth and in-person modalities.
• To evaluate differences in mean scores, elevation rates, and classification accuracy.
• To determine if telehealth administration impacts scale performance compared to traditional in-person methods.

Main Methods:

• Simulated feigning conditions were established using best telehealth practices.
• Data were collected via telehealth and compared to parallel in-person conditions.
• Overreporting scale effectiveness was analyzed using mean scores, elevation rates, and classification accuracy.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were found in the effectiveness of overreporting scales between telehealth and in-person modalities.
• Scale effectiveness remained comparable, especially when posttest questionnaires were used for exclusion.
• Telehealth administration did not meaningfully alter the performance of the studied overreporting scales.

Conclusions:

• Telehealth psychological assessment practices are supported by these findings.
• Research data collected virtually can be integrated with traditional in-person feigning literature.
• The study supports the continued use and development of telehealth-based psychological assessment tools.