Detection of symptom exaggeration with the MMPI-2 in litigants with malingered neurocognitive dysfunction

MMPI-2 scores of 26 persons identified as meeting criteria for definite malingered neurocognitive dysfunction (MND), were contrasted with the MMPI-2 scores of 29 persons who had suffered moderate or severe closed head injury. The Lees-Haley Fake Bad Scale (FBS) was the most sensitive MMPI-2 scale in discriminating the malingerers from the head-injured persons, with additional significant differences obtained on standard MMPI-2 clinical scales including Scales 1 (Hs), 2 (D), 3 (Hy), 7 (Pt), and 8 (Sc). Correlational analyses on a larger sample combining additional subjects with evidence of possible or probable MND, with the original sample and the head injured subjects, demonstrated the concurrent validity of the FBS, which correlated with the Portland Digit Recognition Test (PDRT), and with Scales 1 (Hs), 2 (D), 3 (Hy), and 7 (Pt) of the MMPI-2.