Potential for Bias in MMPI-2 Assessments Using the Fake Bad Scale (FBS)

The Fake Bad Scale (FBS), developed to identify malingering of emotional distress among claimants seeking compensation for personal injuries, was recently added to the MMPI-2 scoring materials, resulting in its widespread dissemination across the various clinical settings that use the MMPI-2 in psychological evaluations. We examine: (1) questions of item bias in the FBS; (2) how malingering and nonmalingering groups are identified in FBS studies, including whether the research has been broadly inclusive and fully represents the populations assessed by the MMPI-2; (3) the reliability and validity of the FBS; (4) the highly variable recommendations for raw score cut-offs and how they relate to T scores; (5) two inpatient groups [men in a tertiary care Veterans Affairs Healthcare System (VA) unit and women in an eating disorders program] who may be inappropriately labeled as malingering by the FBS; (6) the publisher’s statement on use of the FBS; and (7) a Frye hearing in Florida where the FBS was excluded from expert testimony, one of three so far. We raise questions about its potential bias against people with disabilities and physical illnesses, women, individuals exposed to highly traumatic situations, and those motivated to present themselves in a favorable light. Psychologists using the FBS for making decisions about clients’ motivations need to be aware of the serious problems with the scale’s use and the cases of its inadmissibility in court.     

Diversity on Campus: A Reassessment of Current Strategies1

The underrepresentation of minorities in higher education evokes a widely shared sense of urgency among educational policymakers. Allan Oster, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, has described the persistent gap between minority and white participation rates as "[o]ne of the most pressing issues facing higher education today" (American Council on Education, 1988b, p. iv). Eliminating the gap and overcoming the other educational inequalities faced by minorities "is not an option, but a necessity; and the need is not eventual, it is immediate" (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990, p. 14). Failure to take timely and decisive action not only threatens the moral and intellectual integrity of higher education as a whole, but our nation's economic well-being (American Council on Education, 1988b, p. 1). As officials at Smith College so eloquently said, "[i]t is no exaggeration to say that the future of the nation and the future of higher education depend on the ability of the educational establishment to become more inclusive" (Smith College, 1989, preamble).     

Linking early ADHD to adolescent and early adult outcomes among African Americans

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a mediational model for the mechanisms through which a diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder between the ages of 10 and 12 predicts positive and negative early adult outcomes for African Americans.

Methods

The study sample (n = 211) was drawn from the Des Moines, Iowa subsample of the Family and Community Health Study. Participants were first assessed between the ages of 10 and 12, again between the ages of 12 and 18, and finally at 18 to 23.

Results

Findings indicate that a diagnosis of ADHD before age 13 indirectly predicted subsequent exclusionary school discipline and juvenile arrest in adolescence, and both arrests and educational attainment in young adulthood.

Conclusions

These findings offer support for the School to Prison Pipeline model, showing that for some African American children, a childhood diagnosis of ADHD can lead to negative school experiences that result in harsh school-based discipline, which in turn open the door to justice system involvement spanning several developmental stages.     

Improving the Implementation and Effectiveness of Out‐of‐School‐Time Tutoring

School districts are spending millions on tutoring outside regular school day hours for economically and academically disadvantaged students in need of extra academic assistance. Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), parents of children in persistently low‐performing schools were allowed to choose their child's tutoring provider, and together with school districts, they were also primarily responsible for holding providers in the private market accountable for performance. We present results from a multisite, mixed‐method longitudinal study of the impact of out‐of‐school time (OST) tutoring on student reading and mathematics achievement that link provider attributes and policy and program administration variables to tutoring program effectiveness. We find that many students are not getting enough hours of high‐quality, differentiated instruction to produce significant gains in their learning, in part because of high hourly rates charged by providers for tutoring. We identify strategies and policy levers that school districts can use to improve OST tutoring policy design and launch improved programs as waivers from NCLB are granted.     

Freedom of Information and Parliamentary Departments

This article examines whether freedom of information (FOI) legislation should apply to those agencies working to support parliaments. In the past, FOI legislation was characterized as a mechanism to allow greater scrutiny of the executive branch by parliament and the community. On this analysis, there was no reason to extend the legislation to the agencies of the legislative branch. But the role of FOI legislation has developed so that it now forms part of a wider integrity framework of government. The need to ensure integrity is a concern for all three branches of government and this article asks whether there are any convincing reasons in principle or practice to exclude the parliamentary departments from the FOI regime.     

Social determinants and risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Asian migrant populations in Europe

In Europe, policies, strategies and interventions to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases have generally neglected to take into consideration the impact of migration on health outcomes of increasingly multicultural and diverse societies. Research has shown that migrants of South Asian origin living in Europe are more at risk of acquiring non-communicable diseases than their counterparts in their country of origin or than the host European population. Using the example of migrants of South Asian origin, this paper highlights the migration-related social determinants of health and risk factors for non-communicable diseases. This paper calls for a more integrated, multi-sectoral approach to promote migrant-friendly health and social services to address non-communicable diseases in South Asia and Europe.     

Relationships among alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence victimization among young women in the United States

Greater access to alcohol has been widely found to be associated with many negative outcomes including violence perpetration. This study examines the relationship between alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among young women in the United States. A direct association between alcohol outlet density in one's neighborhood and the likelihood of IPV victimization was examined. Data were from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which followed a nationally representative sample of adolescents into adulthood. Participants were young adult females age 18 to 26 at Wave III. Of the 4,571 female respondents who reported a current heterosexual relationship and had IPV data, 13.2% reported having been the victim of physical violence only and 6.5% experienced sexual only or physical and sexual violence in the relationship during the past year. In the regression models tested, there was no significant direct association between neighborhood alcohol outlet density and IPV victimization nor was there an association between outlet density and drinking behaviors, thus eliminating the possibility of an indirect association. Results of fully adjusted models indicate females who drank heavily, whether infrequently or frequently, were at significant risk for experiencing sexual only IPV or sexual and physical IPV. Asians and Native Americans were at significantly greater odds of experiencing sexual only or sexual and physical IPV compared with non-Hispanic Whites, while non-Hispanic Blacks were at significantly greater odds for physical only IPV. We conclude that a continuous measure of alcohol outlet density was not associated with IPV in models controlling for individual and other neighborhood characteristics. Young women who drink heavily, whether infrequently or frequently, have greater odds of experiencing sexual only or sexual and physical compared to abstainers. Similar to previous study findings, young women living with or married to their partner were at far greater risk of experiencing physical only and/or sexual only or sexual and physical IPV. The study adds to the growing body of literature that examines how community characteristics such as outlet density influence the likelihood of IPV.