The M-FAST is a 25-item screening interview that provides information regarding the probability that the client is feigning psychiatric illness. The scales are:
- Reported vs. observed
- Extreme symptomalogy
- Rare combinations
- Unusual hallucinations
- Unusual symptom course
- Negative image
- Suggestibility
The total score provides an estimate of the likelihood the client is malingering psychopathology and the scale scores can provide information about the nature of the response style which can help to explain how the client is attempting to malinger mental illness.