Framing the Results: Assessment of Response Bias Through Select Self-Report Measures in Psychological Injury Evaluations

Abstract

Forensic psychological injury evaluations require extensive consideration of malingering and response bias.

The Verifiability Approach to detection of malingered physical symptoms

“…Iverson & Binder, 2000) or examining over-endorsement of physical or psychological symptoms on self-report tests (Merten, Merckelbach, Giger, & Stevens, 2016). Such tests are called Symptom Validity Tests and have shown to be useful in forensic settings (see Bianchini, Mathias, & Greve, 2001;Sleep, Petty, & Wygant, 2015), but less so in medical settings (Rogers, Sewell, & Salekin, 1994;Schoenberg, Dorr, & Morgan, 2003).…”

A multi-method approach to the detection of fabricated symptoms

“…The most frequently used methods for the detection of malingering involve examining intentional underperformance on simple memory tasks (e.g., Iverson & Binder, 2000) or examining over-endorsement of physical or psychological symptoms on self-report tests (Merten, Merckelbach, Giger, & Stevens, 2016). Such tests are called Symptom Validity Tests (SVTs) and have shown to be useful in forensic settings which involve malingering (see Sleep, Petty, & Wygant, 2015;Bianchini, Mathias, & Greve, 2001), but are less often applied in clinical (diagnostic) settings (Schoenberg, Dorr, & Morgan, 2003;Roger, Sewell, & Salekin, 1994).…”

Towards Balanced VA and SSA Policies in Psychological Injury Disability Assessment

“…As for some of the research in support of the MMPI-2-RF in the forensic disability and related context, Sleep et al (2015) noted that Wygant, Anderson, Sellbom, Rapier, Allgeier, and Granacher (2011) found the Fs and FBS-r scales were Bgood at identifying noncredible neurocognitive and somatic symptoms^in litigation-related compensation-seeking examinees undergoing disability evaluations who were classified at malingering levels using the MND and MPRD criteria.…”

“…Young (2014a) reviewed the literature related to these tests in the forensic disability and related context, and found that the research on the MMPI-2-RF, in particular, was burgeoning (even by workers other than the test founders) and supported its use in these assessments. Sleep, Petty and Wygant (2015) described that one MMPI-2 over-reporting indicator is the Infrequency (F) scale. It includes rare psychopathological symptoms endorsed by <10 % of the original MMPI normative sample.…”

“…Its 27 items were endorsed Brarely^(by less than 20 %) in two samples of psychiatric inpatients, and also in the MMPI-2 normative sample. Sleep et al (2015) continued that the Fake Bad Scale (FBS) includes 43 items that were rationally selected for assessing exaggerated post-injury emotional distress, while also minimizing any preexisting psychopathology. [Note.…”