A taxometric analysis of MMPI-2 infrequency scales [F and F(p)] in clinical settings

The typology of overreporting, which is a deliberate attempt to amplify symptoms, simulate psychopathology, or understate coping capacities, was examined using taxometric procedures with Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Infrequency scales [F and F(p)] in psychiatric inpatient and Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center treatment settings. Overreporting was identified as a taxon using several taxometric procedures, and the multiple estimates of the taxon base rate were consistent within each sample. Mean base-rate estimates were. 27 and .19 for the psychiatric inpatient and VA medical center settings, respectively. Overall classification rates ranged from .80 to .97 across the 2 settings, which supports the use of F and F((p) in the identification of overreporting on the MMPI-2 in psychiatric inpatient and VA medical center settings.