Malingering as a categorical or dimensional construct: The latent structure of feigned psychopathology as measured by the SIRS and MMPI-2.

Abstract

The 6 nonoverlapping primary scales of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) were subjected to taxometric analysis in a group of 1,211 criminal and civil examinees in order to investigate the latent structure of feigned psychopathology. Both taxometric procedures used in this study, mean above minus below a cut (MAMBAC) and maximum covariance (MAXCOV), produced dimensional results. A subgroup of participants (n = 711) with valid Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) protocols were included in a second round of analyses in which the 6 nonoverlapping primary scales of the SIRS and the Infrequency (F), Infrequency-Psychopathology (Fp), and Dissimulation (Ds) scales of the MMPI-2 served as indicators. Again, the results were more consistent with dimensional latent structure than with taxonic latent structure. On the basis of these findings, it is concluded that feigned psychopathology forms a dimension (levels of fabrication or exaggeration) rather than a taxon (malingering-honest dichotomy) and that malingering is a quantitative distinction rather than a qualitative one. The theoretical and clinical practice implications of these findings are discussed.

Diagnostic Accuracy of a Bayesian Latent Group Analysis for the Detection of Malingering-Related Poor Effort

“…The parameter p(z i | D) therefore indicates the theoretical position of each participant's performance along a continuum of effort (see Iverson, 2010, p. 110). This feature of our Bayesian latent group model is consistent with recent views that consider effort and malingering as continua rather than taxonomies (see Iverson, 2010;Walters et al, 2008;Walters, Berry, Lanyon, & Murphy, 2009). We believe that providing individual posterior classification estimates of effort constitutes another advantage of the proposed model.…”

DSM-5 and Malingering: a Modest Proposal

“…reported that taxometric analyses of results from psychiatric outpatients completing a health inventory with embedded validity scales indicated that feigning of physical symptoms was dimensional, not categorical. Similarly, Walters et al (2008) analyzed Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2nd Edition (MMPI-2) and Structured Inventory of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) data from forensic neuropsychiatric evaluees and found evidence for feigned psychiatric symptoms as a continuous, not a categorical phenomenon. Finally, analyzed results on objective neurocognitive feigning instruments in forensic neuropsychiatric patients and reported evidence for a dimensional structure of the construct.…”

Detection of malingering: psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the structured interview of reported symptoms-2

“…Since the MMPI-2 is the most popular and well- researched objective clinical assessment instrument [30], the construct validity of the Chinese version of SIRS-2 was examined by using MMPI-2. The SIRS primary scales produced correlations with MMPI-2 feigning scales with inverse relations with its scales of Defensiveness.…”