Synonyms

Infrequency scale; Infrequent responses; Overreporting

Definition

The F/F-r is a validity scale on the MMPI-2/A/-RF that assess an individual’s tendency to endorse uncommon symptoms or level distress/dysfunction in certain populations.

Introduction

The F/F-r scale is a validity scale developed on the original Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Dahlstrom et al. 1972) and all additional versions: MMPI-2 (Butcher et al. 2001), restructured form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008), and adolescent (MMPI-A; Butcher et al. 1992). According to the administration and scoring manual, an elevation on this scale is indicative of the individual endorsing a number of symptoms that were not reported by the majority of the original normative group and the profile produced may not be a valid representation of current symptoms. However, F scale elevations also measure distress and the severity of psychopathology in some groups, such as traumatized or psychotic patients, as opposed to exaggerating psychopathology (e.g., Brand and Chasson 2015; Klotz Flitter et al. 2003). Given the common use of the MMPI-2/RF/A in psychological assessment, it is critical to be informed of the various applications of this scale.

Development and Application

Items in the F scale were intended to identify uncommon/unusual patterns of endorsement (Dahlstrom et al. 1972). They were chosen because less than 10% of the normative sample from Minnesota endorsed the items. However, there were several items that did not meet this criterion on the original version, the total number of which varied depending on the respondent’s gender. The gender differences on the F scale were corrected for the MMPI-2. All items for the F scale are contained within the first 361 questions on the MMPI/MMPI-2 (Butcher et al. 2001), with F back (Fb) providing similar information about the test taker’s response style on the last 206 questions.

When the F scale is elevated, it may indicate the respondent is exaggerating their psychological distress or randomly responded. However, it can also indicate significant psychological distress, particularly among traumatized or psychotic individuals (Brand and Chasson 2015; Butcher et al. 2001; Klotz Flitter et al. 2003). Given the possibility of potential gain from presenting oneself as severely ill in some types of evaluations (e.g., forensic contexts), these scales can provide guidance in determining the likelihood of an accurate presentation when interpreted along with other validity indicators. It is critical that a determination of overreporting or malingering includes multi-measure/source corroboration and is never based on a single scale or measure (Rogers 2008). Two scales on the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A are utilized to determine if F scale elevations are due to random/inconsistent responding. Elevations on the variable response inconsistency scale (VRIN) may indicate random responding, and elevations on the true response inconsistency scale (TRIN) may indicate a pattern of randomly answering true to items. The MMPI-2-RF reduces the item overlap between VRIN-r and TRIN-r with the goal of providing a more valid evaluation of random or fixed responding, respectively (Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008).

Rogers et al. (2003) meta-analysis showed a wide distribution of elevated F scale scores on the MMPI-2 (M = 65.70, SD = 19.03) for patients experiencing genuine distress, including those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and schizophrenia. In addition, research has shown that the F scale can be considered a valid indicator of symptom chronicity in those with a genuine disorder (Cukrowicz et al. 2004). The F scale may also not be the most effective for determining exaggerated cognitive dysfunction in forensic settings because of the broad range of symptoms contained within the scale (Tsushima et al. 2013).

F Scales on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF)

Given MMPI-2-RF (Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008) is shorter than the MMPI/MMPI-2, the infrequency scale (F-r) consists of items across the entire test. Unlike the MMPI/MMPI-2, the F-r scale only has item overlap with one overreporting scale (i.e., Response Bias Scale) that is primarily focused on forensic (neuropsychological and disability) evaluations (Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008).

Although the MMPI-2-RF did not utilize an updated normative sample to construct the test, the authors focused on reducing the amount of item overlap between scales to create a conceptually cleaner measure (Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008). Goodwin et al. (2013) found that a cutoff of 105T on the F-r scale was effective at differentiating between compensation-seeking veterans and feigners. In addition, F-r showed higher elevations for those with PTSD and/or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) than those who did not have these conditions in a non-treatment/compensation-seeking sample, suggesting the differences are due to the nature of the condition rather than the setting.

F Scales on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescents (MMPI-A)

Because adolescents respond differently than adults, the MMPI-A (Butcher et al. 1992) F scale was revised to contain items that less than 20% of the normative 14–18-year-old sample endorsed. The scale is divided across the clinical scales (F1, first 236 items) and the supplementary and content scales (F2, last 114 items) (Butcher et al. 1992), with 33 questions in each section.

There is a dearth of research on the MMPI-A F scale. The F scale was found to be effective at differentiating between a small sample of adolescents instructed to overreport psychological symptoms or randomly respond versus honest responders (Baer et al. 1999). Archer et al. (2002) found the F scale is helpful in determining random responding across the entire test, but performs less well if it occurs only in one section (e.g., only toward the end). Adolescents with hallucinogen dependence had higher F scale scores than those with marijuana or methamphetamine dependence, which is consistent with the research showing psychotic-type experiences are associated with elevations on F (Palmer and Daiss 2005).

Conclusion

The F/F-r scale can be useful in providing information about an individual’s response pattern on the MMPI-2/RF. However, there are insufficient studies on the utility of the F scale on the MMPI-A, and the research base on the MMPI-2-RF shows promise but needs further development. Standard interpretation suggests individuals may be overreporting their level of distress when this scale is elevated on the MMPI-2. However, this interpretation is not always accurate with severely ill or traumatized groups. Thus, it is critical that assessors interpret F scale scores carefully guided by recent research, particularly related to trauma.

Cross-References