Personality characteristics of patients showing suboptimal cognitive effort.
This study examined the relationship between performance on the Portland Digit Recognition Test (PDRT) and the MMPI-2 in a group of veterans who were suspected of having motivation to exaggerate cognitive and/or psychiatric symptoms. Number correct on "easy" trials on the PDRT correlated inversely with MMPI-2 measures of psychopathology, whereas number correct on "hard" trials positively correlated with the same scales. Some individuals performed poorly across both types of PDRT trials and had significant MMPI-2 elevations, whereas others performed poorly only on "hard" PDRT trials and had less extreme MMPI-2 elevations. This study reinforces the need to assess the validity of both cognitive and psychiatric symptom complaints.
Temple
Richard O
RO
Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA. rtemple@lifespan.org
McBride
Angela M
AM
David Horner
Michael David
MD
Taylor
Robin M
RM
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D014728:Veterans