Detecting malingering in traumatic brain injury and chronic pain with an abbreviated version of the Meyers Index for the MMPI-2

Abstract

Meyers, Millis, and Volkert [Meyers, J. E., Millis, S. R., & Volkert, K. (2002). A validity index for the MMPI-2. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 17, 157-169] developed a method to detect malingering in chronic pain patients using seven scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). This method may be impractical because two of the scales (Obvious minus Subtle and Dissimulation-revised) are not reported by the commercially available Pearson computerized scoring system. The current study recalculated the Meyers Index using the five Pearson-provided scales in the chronic pain data sets of Meyers et al. [Meyers, J. E., Millis, S. R., & Volkert, K. (2002). A validity index for the MMPI-2. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 17, 157-169] and Bianchini, Etherton, Greve, Heinly, and Meyers [Bianchini, K. J., Etherton, J. L., Greve, K. W., Heinly, M. T., & Meyers, J. E. (in press). Classification accuracy of MMPI-2 validity scales in the detection of pain-related malingering: A known-groups approach. Assessment], and the traumatic brain injury data of Greve, Bianchini, Love, Brennan, and Heinly [Greve, K. W., Bianchini, K. J., Love, J. M., Brennan, A., & Heinly, M. T. (2006). Sensitivity and specificity of MMPI-2 validity scales and indicators to malingered neurocognitive dysfunction in traumatic brain injury. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 20, 491-512]. Classification accuracy of the abbreviated Meyers Index was comparable to the original. These findings demonstrate that the abbreviated Meyers Index can be used as a substitute of the original Meyers Index without decrements in classification accuracy.

The development and initial validation of the cognitive response bias scale for the personality assessment inventory

“…In its initial validation study, it demonstrated a strong ability to differentiate between chronic pain patients in litigation, compared to non-litigating chronic pain patients, with a specificity of 1.0 and sensitivity of .86. These results were replicated in an independent study involving chronic pain patients, with similar results observed (Bianchini et al, 2008), and this index's functioning was also examined in TBI patients in two different studies and demonstrated good ability to differentiate between TBI patients under litigation; however, classification accuracy was not as high as with chronic pain patients (Aguerrevere, Greve, Bianchini, & Meyers, 2008;Dionysus, Denney, & Halfaker, 2011;. These finding are expected, given the fact this index was created using chronic pain patients.…”

A Critical Analysis of the MND Criteria for Feigned Cognitive Impairment: Implications for Forensic Practice and Research

“…a Findings from the Bianchini and Greve research program often do not specify (a) the source of the data or (b) the overlap, if any, between reported studies. For this table, we excluded any study that explicitly acknowledged their sample as being previously reported upon in published literature (see Aguerrevere, Greve, Bianchini, & Meyers, 2008), but included those in which subject overlap appeared likely (i.e., [17] [19]). b…”

Are patients with chronic pain and fibromyalgia correctly classified by MMPI-2 validity scales and indexes?

“…Since the perception of pain is purely subjective, physical tests play a limited role in the differential assessment of malingering; therefore psychological assessment is a good, even indispensable, complement for differential diagnosis. Although instruments have been developed for this purpose, some of them exclusively, such as TOMM, MMPI is the benchmark instrument in psychological assessment and the assessment of malingering (Greene, 2011;Rogers, 2008;Rogers, Sewell, Martin, & Vitacco, 2003), including chronic pain (Aguerrevere, Greve, Bianchini, & Meyers, 2008;Greve et al, 2009;Huss, 2009;Meyers, Millis, & Volkert, 2002).…”