MMPI-2 Clinical Scale 6 (Paranoia) and Restructured Clinical Scale 6 (Ideas of Persecution) in Child Custody Litigants

Abstract

The American Psychological Association Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Family Law Proceedings, 1 and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation, 2 recommend the use of a multi trait/multi method assessment procedure in child custody evaluations (CCE's).These procedures generally include clinical interviews of each parent, observations or interviews of the children, parent-child observation or interview, collateral interview of relevant third parties, extensive review of relevant documentation, and, in some cases home visits; and, most psychologists who conduct CCE's administer standardized, objective self-report personality assessment measures.[3][4][5] The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) 6 has been identified in surveys of forensic psychologists as the most frequently used test in forensic assessment of adults, 7 and in the assessment of parents in CCE's, [3][4] and as receiving the highest ratings in meeting Daubert criteria 8 among tests, techniques, and inventories used in CCE's.9 The use of personality testing of parents does not permit direct inferences about parenting behavior, and there is no MMPI-2 profile of a good vs. bad parent.10 However, as one component of a CCE, standardized, validated psychological tests such as the MMPI-2 may be very useful in the assessment of personality qualities and psychopathology that may be relevant to issues in the realm of parenting.These issues may include regulation of emotions, impulse control, the presence of severe depressive or anxiety symptoms, paranoid delusions, problems with misuse of alcohol or other substances, severe narcissistic qualities, and antisocial behavior, as well as the assessment of how stress might be impacting the parent's relationship with the child.11 Published studies of MMPI-2 descriptive data in child custody samples Over the past two decades, several published studies reported descriptive data on the MMPI-2in parents involved in child custody litigation.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Such studies indicate that, on average, parents who are evaluated in the context of custody litigation obtain modestly elevated scores, ranging from one half to 1 standard deviation above the mean score of 50 on the standard validity scales designed to assess underreporting (Scales L, K, and S).At modestly elevated score levels, e.g., T 55-60, the K and S scales may suggest an accurate portrayal of positive emotional adjustment.However, at increasingly elevated levels, the K and S scales suggest defensiveness, denial of any problems, and unrealistic claims of superior adjustment, which may seriously undermine the veracity of the test profile.At increasingly elevated levels the L scale suggests naïve efforts to claim virtues that are uncommon in most people.Pope et al., 18 reported average T scores of 56.5, 56.5, and 58.8 on the L, K, and S scales, respectively, based on a total of 1,799 parents.Hynan 16 reported average T scores of 60.88 and 62.14 on the L and K scales, respectively, based on a total of 557 parents.Simultaneously, on average, parents undergoing CCE's typically obtain scores within the average range on the clinical scales assessing psychopathology.In essence, parents that are evaluated in the context of CCE's tend to adopt a test response style in which they portray a favorable image of themselves as being well-adjusted, virtuous, and free of any mental health problems.In studies as cited above, Clinical Scales 3 (Hy: Hysteria), 4 (Pd: Psychopathic Deviate), and 6 (Pa: Paranoia), have been the only clinical scales that exceeded the standardization mean T score of 50, albeit mean scores on these scales were well within the average range. MMPI-2 Scale 6 in samples of parents undergoing CCE'sButcher, 14 and Pope et al., 18 reported that Scale 6 as a high-point clinical scale (i.e., the highest clinical scale in the profile) occurred in 29.4 % of male, and 26.6 % of female custody litigants in their sample.Scale 6 also was the most frequent well-defined (i.e., higher

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