Detecting malingered pain-related disability: classification accuracy of the test of memory malingering.
This study used criterion groups validation to determine the accuracy of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in detecting malingered pain-related disability (MPRD) across a range of cutoffs in chronic pain patients undergoing psychological evaluation (n = 604). Data from patients with traumatic brain injury (n = 45) and dementia (n = 59) are presented for comparison. TOMM scores decreased and failure rates increased as a function of greater external evidence of intentional under-performance. The TOMM detected from 37.5% to 60.2% of MPRD patients, depending on the cutoff. False positive (FP) error rates ranged from 0% to 5.1%. Accuracy data for Trial 1 are also reported. In chronic pain the original cutoffs produced no FP errors but were associated with high false negative error rates. Higher cutoffs increased sensitivity without adversely affecting specificity. The relevance of these findings to research and clinical practice is discussed.
Greve
Kevin W
KW
Department of Psychology, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA. kgreve@uno.edu
Etherton
Joseph L
JL
Ord
Jonathan
J
Bianchini
Kevin J
KJ
Curtis
Kelly L
KL
D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology; D003943:Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index