The Infrequency-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale (Fptsd) for the MMPI - 2 - Development and Initial Validation With Veterans Presenting With Combat - Related PTSD

Sep 17, 2026

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The Infrequency-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale (Fptsd) was developed from MMPI-2 items infrequently endorsed by male combat veterans seeking treatment at two Veterans Affairs PTSD clinics. Data from 940 veterans established initial validity, and a validation sample of 323 additional PTSD-diagnosed combat veterans further confirmed performance. Relative to established MMPI-2 validity and overreporting scales (F, Fb, Fp), Fptsd showed lower associations with psychopathology and distress and better discrimination between simulated and genuinely reported PTSD. Clinical implications address assessing disability-seeking veterans suspected of overreporting PTSD symptoms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Development and initial validation

Scale construction from MMPI-2 items

Validation samples and statistical evaluation

Comparative performance vs existing validity scales

Clinical implications for disability assessments

JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT, 79(3), 531–549 Copyright © 2002, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. The Infrequency-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale (Fptsd) for the MMPI–2: Development and Initial Validation With Veterans Presenting With Combat-Related PTSD Jon D. Elhai Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Medical University of South Carolina and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Charleston, South Carolina Kenneth J. Ruggiero National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Medical University of South Carolina B. Christopher Frueh Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Medical University of South Carolina and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Charleston, South Carolina Jean C. Beckham Department of Psychiatry Duke University Medical Center and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Durham, North Carolina Paul B. Gold Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Medical University of South Carolina and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Charleston, South Carolina 532 ELHAI ET AL. Michelle E. Feldman Veterans Affairs Medical Center Durham, North Carolina Researchers have identified difficulties associated with the use of traditional Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI–2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen,& Kaemmer, 1989) validity scales with survivors of traumatic events. Anew scale, the Infrequency-Posttraumatic Stress Disorder scale (Fptsd), was created from MMPI–2 items that were infrequently endorsed by 940 male combat veterans presenting for treatment atthe posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) clinics of 2 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. A variety of statistical methods were implemented that preliminarily established Fptsd’svalidity with a validation sample of 323 additional PTSD-diagnosed combat veterans. Results indicate that, relative to previously established validity and overreporting scales (F, Fb, and Fp), Fptsd was significantly less related to psychopathology and distress and better at discriminating simulated from genuinely reported PTSD. Clinical implications are discussed concerning the use ofFptsd to assess disability-seeking veterans suspected of overreporting PTSD symptoms. In addition to assessing various forms of psychopathology, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI–2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) includes validity scales that measure a respondent’s test-taking attitude. In particular, a number of symptom overreporting scales have been created. The Infrequency scale (F), one of the original validity scales included in the MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1943), measures the extent to which respondents endorse infrequent and atypical responses (i.e., endorsed by fewer than 10% of the general population) . It includes content areas such as bizarre sensations, thoughts and experiences, feelings of alienation, and unlikely beliefs and expectations (Dahlstrom, Welsh, & Dahlstrom, 1972) . Later, additional scales were created based on F’s rationale to identify exaggerated response sets. For instance, Gough’s Dissimulation index (F – K; Gough, 1950) is a calculation of the raw scores of F minus the Correction scale (K) . The Infrequency-Back Side scale (Fb) assesses infrequent responses that occur primarily on the second half of the test. Additional MMPI–2 overreporting scales have been created as well, includingthe Dissimulation scale (Ds2 ; Gough, 1950) and its revised version (Ds-r2 ; Gough, 1957), reflecting maladjustment not typically endorsed by patients. The Koss and Butcher (1973), as well as Lachar and Wrobel (1979), critical items were developed from face valid items that were considered to be of psychological concern, with the sum of items on either of these scales serving as an index of malingering (KBSUM and LWSUM, respectively) . Last, the total difference between the Fptsd SCALE 533 Weiner and Harmon obvious and su

FAQs

How was the Fptsd scale developed from the MMPI-2?

Fptsd was created using MMPI-2 items that were infrequently endorsed by combat veterans presenting for PTSD treatment.

What evidence supports Fptsd’s initial validity?

The study used data from 940 male combat veterans to establish initial validity and then tested performance with a validation sample of 323 additional PTSD-diagnosed combat veterans.

How does Fptsd compare with existing MMPI-2 validity and overreporting scales?

Compared with F, Fb, and Fp, Fptsd was significantly less related to psychopathology and distress and better distinguished simulated from genuinely reported PTSD.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Mia