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Abstract
Toward the end of her article addressing the prevalence of MMPI-2 Scale 4 elevations among child custody litigants, Ellis recommended use of the MMPI-2-RF scales in child custody evaluations. Unfortunately, this recommendation was not supported by a comprehensive review of the literature similar to the one she used to address her primary questions about MMPI-2 Scale 4. This article describes many of the criticisms of the MMPI–2–RF, and its various scales, including the RC Scales and the Fake Bad Scale (recently renamed the Symptom Validity Scale). The MMPI-2-RF and its scales are novel measures whose use may be challenged in forensic settings. Psychologists considering including them as part of a test battery must evaluate their psychometric properties by carefully examining the test manuals, empirical studies, and recent textbooks. Many experts do not consider the MMPI-2-RF to be a viable replacement for the MMPI-2 in critical evaluations such as child custody.
Acknowledgments
Butcher and Williams are both emeritus professors who worked on the development of the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A. They do not receive royalties from sales of those instruments or their scales and have not received consultant fees or other personal income to write this article. Butcher and Williams are authors of an interpretive system for the MMPI-2 and MMPI-A, the Minnesota Report, and receive royalties from that system. Butcher's part time practice includes forensic cases and he has testified as an expert fairly evenly for plaintiffs and defense. Williams is a consultant to Butcher's practice and has received income from it. Disclosure statements for Butcher and Williams appear at http://www1.umn.edu/mmpi/disclosure.php.