Use of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) To Identify Malingering and Exaggeration of Psychiatric Symptomatology in Male Prison Inmates

• NCJ Number: 110771
• Journal: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Volume: 56 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1988) Pages: 111-117
• Author(s): G D Walters; T W White; R L Greene
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 8 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

In the first of two studies it was determined that special Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scales (e.g., the Dissimulation scale and the Obvious and Subtle subscales) were slightly more effective in discriminating between malingering and genuinely disturbed male prison inmates (N = 72) relative to the standard MMPI validity and clinical scales.

Abstract

The second study in this series evaluated the decisionmaking abilities of students (N = 20), clinicians (N = 16), and experts (N = 24) using MMPI's generated by a subsample of inmates from Study 1. Clinical judges did no better, and in many cases did worse, than the actuarials obtained in Study 1. Furthermore, prior clinical experience, training, and perceived expertise had little impact on performance. Judges utilizing a linear or a combined linear-configural interpretive approach did slightly better than judges relying exclusively on configural strategies. Surprisingly, many of the clinical judges seemed to experience difficulty making effective use of base-rate information. (Publisher abstract)