Flexible and Conditional Administration of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form in Presurgical Psychological Evaluations of Spine Surgery Candidates

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a flexible and conditional administration (FCA) for the MMPI-2-RF in archival samples of spine surgery and spinal cord simulator candidates presenting for presurgical psychological evaluations. The sample included 1,477 spine surgery candidates (709 male, 276 female) and 476 spinal cord stimulator candidates (178 male, 298 female). Using a simulation design, the results of this study indicated that an FCA of the MMPI-2-RF closely approximates the amount of information gained from a standard MMPI-2-RF administration. In addition, time savings were substantial in both samples, particularly the spine surgery sample, as item savings varied from 40% to 80%, depending on the number of substantive domains flexibly administered. Overall, the results of the study lend support for the feasibility of the FCA approach in presurgical evaluations of spine surgery candidates, in particular for those situations where the length of the test would otherwise preclude its use.