FBS-R (Symptom Validity Scale-Revised)
Definition
MMPI-2-RF scale developed to detect over-reported somatic and cognitive symptoms in personal-injury litigation; contested validity in traumatically injured genuine plaintiffs.
- Parent instrument
- MMPI-2-RF
- Purpose
- Detect over-reported somatic/cognitive symptoms
- Context
- Personal-injury litigation evaluations
- Status
- Validity contested in genuinely injured plaintiffs
Common questions
Why is the FBS-r controversial when other MMPI-2-RF validity scales are widely accepted?+
Critics argue that its item set can flag genuinely injured plaintiffs with legitimate, severe symptom burdens as over-reporting, because real trauma survivors sometimes endorse a broad range of somatic and cognitive complaints that overlap with the scale's exaggeration indicators, raising false-positive concerns in litigation settings.
How should an evaluator use an elevated FBS-r score in a forensic report?+
As one data point weighed against the clinical picture, collateral records and other validity indicators, not as standalone proof of malingering. Professional guidance cautions against reporting an elevated score as definitive evidence of symptom exaggeration given the ongoing validity debate.
Related terms
- ANT (Antisocial Features)
- PAI clinical scale with three subscales (Antisocial Behaviors, Egocentricity, Stimulus Seeking); correlates substantially with PCL-R scores in forensic samples.
- Base Rate (BR) Scoring
- MCMI-IV scoring system that replaces T-scores with prevalence-adjusted scores; BR 75 indicates trait elevation, BR 85 supports diagnostic inference.
- F-R (Infrequency-Revised)
- MMPI-2-RF over-reporting validity scale measuring endorsement of rare psychological content; elevation above T=80 raises concern about symptom exaggeration.
- Fp-R (Infrequency-Psychopathology-Revised)
- MMPI-2-RF over-reporting validity scale measuring endorsement of items rarely endorsed even by genuine psychiatric patients; stronger malingering indicator than F-r in forensic...
- L-R / K-R
- MMPI-2-RF under-reporting validity scales; L-r (Uncommon Virtues) and K-r (Adjustment Validity) detect unrealistically positive self-presentation.
- MAL (Malingering Index)
- PAI configuration-based supplementary index developed for forensic populations to detect feigned psychopathology; used alongside NIM and clinical scales.
- MCMI-IV
- Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Fourth Edition; 195-item instrument with base-rate scoring, aligned with DSM-5 personality disorder criteria.
- MMPI-2-RF
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form; 338-item self-report instrument with 51 scales, the most researched personality measure in forensic psychology.
- NIM (Negative Impression Management)
- PAI primary over-reporting validity scale; T-scores above 73 typically raise concern about feigned psychopathology in forensic evaluations.
- PAI
- Personality Assessment Inventory; 344-item instrument with 22 non-overlapping scales, built on construct-validation strategy; NIM and supplementary indices detect over-reporting.
- RBS (Response Bias Scale)
- MMPI-2-RF supplementary validity scale predicting performance validity test failure; developed specifically to detect self-reported memory complaints inconsistent with objective testing.