The METFORS Fitness Questionnaire (MFQ): A self-report measure for screening competency to stand trial

The Metropolitan Toronto Forensic Service (METFORS) Fitness Questionnaire (MFQ) is a 19 item self-report measure focusing on legal issues typically addressed during fitness interviews. A validation study was performed with 49 patients at METFORS (Forensic Division of the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry) to evaluate empirically the ability of the MFQ along with a 20 min psychometric cognitive battery to screen fitness by comparing these results, blindly, to psychiatric fitness decisions. Discriminant analysis demonstrated that the MFQ along with the cognitive battery demonstrated excellent sensitivity in identifying unfit patients, plus very good selectivity as well. The initial results suggest that the MFQ and the brief cognitive battery appear to represent a clinically acceptable screen for more elaborate and costly fitness assessments, pending replication of these results in the venues where the MFQ will be used. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)