title: Validity of the Miller forensic assessment of symptoms test in psychiatric inpatients.
abstract: This study investigated the validity of the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST), a brief measure of malingering, in an inpatient psychiatric sample of 70. Among those patients who also completed the Personality Assessment Inventory (N=44), Total M-FAST score was related in the expected directions to the Personality Assessment Inventory validity scales and indexes, providing evidence for concurrent validity of the M-FAST. With the PAI malingering index used as a criterion, we examined the diagnostic efficiency of the M-FAST and found a cut score of 8 represented the best balance of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power. Based on this cut-score of 8, 16% of the population was classified as malingering. The M-FAST appears to be an excellent rapid screen for symptom exaggeration in this population and setting.
authors.affiliation: Northwestern State University of Louisiana, USA.
authors.forename: Connie H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Veazey
authors.forename: Alisha L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: J Ray
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.forename: Holly A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity