| The current study is an attempt to further clarify the applicability of the Infrequency-Psychopathology scale, Fp, in an additional setting characterized by high base rates of psychopathology. The impetus for this research lies in the fact that past research has explored the characteristics of this scale in samples of discharged combat veterans and found it to be less confounded with psychopathology than both the F and the Fb scales. No study to date, however, has investigated the characteristics of the Fp scale in an active duty combat veteran sample. The study investigated the characteristics of the Fp scale in a sample of 101 MMPI-2 protocols obtained from an active duty psychiatric inpatient population at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) admitted for treatment during the years 2003-2008. To determine whether elevations on the F scales (F, Fb, and Fp) were related to diagnosis, an overall 5 (Diagnosis: PTSD, Psychosis, Major Depression, Anxiety, and Bipolar Disorder) x 3 (Scale: F, Fb, and Fp) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed. The general characteristics of the Fp scale found in this research were largely consistent with the report of Arbisi and Ben-Porath (1997). The current study extends the Arbisi and Ben-Porath (1995, 1997) findings, providing evidence that the Fp scale is less vulnerable to elevations secondary to psychopathology than both the F scale and the Fb scale. This finding further supports the use of the Fp scale as an adjunct to the interpretation of the F and Fb scales in settings where the base rates of psychopathology are high. |
