IDENTIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO CHRONIC PAIN COMPLAINTS WITH THE MMPI-2 - THE ROLE OF THE K-SCALE

Although the 1-3/3-1 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI ) code type is traditionally interpreted as suggesting that somatic co mplaints are caused or exacerbated by psychological factors, prior res earch has raised questions about the validity of this interpretation f or chronic pain patients. This study examined alternative strategies f or using the MMPI to identify psychological contributions to chronic p ain complaints. A sample of 125 chronic pain patients completed the MM PI-2. They were also rated by clinical staff on a set of descriptive s tatements reflecting psychological features that can contribute to phy sical complaints. MMPI patterns that are traditionally used to identif y these features, such as the 1-3/3-1 code type, were not related to t he ratings. A relation was found between scores on the K scale and the ratings, where patients with higher scores on the K scale (T greater than or equal to 56) received ratings suggesting less of a psychologic al contribution to their pain complaints. The implications of the find ings for understanding the nature of the K scale are discussed.