Exaggerated MMPI-2 symptom report in personal injury litigants with malingered neurocognitive deficit

Traditional MMPI-2 validity scales, the Lees-Haley Fake Bad Scale (FBS), and the Arbisi and Ben Porath Infrequency Psychopathology Scale (F(p)) were evaluated in 33 personal injury litigants who had failed forced-choice symptom validity testing and other measures of effort in patterns consistent with the Slick, Sherman, and Iverson (1999) criteria for definite and probable malingered neurocognitive deficit (MND). The FBS was more sensitive to symptom exaggeration than F, Fb, and F(p). The definite and probable MND litigants also produced mean elevations on MMPI-2 scales 1, 3 and 7 that were significantly higher than those produced by various clinical groups including non-litigating severe closed head injury, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, and depression. These data suggest that MMPI-2 profiles characteristic of malingered injury differ from those associated with malingered psychopathology.