title: Predicting test of memory malingering and medical symptom validity test failure within a Veterans Affairs Medical Center: use of the Response Bias Scale and the Henry-Heilbronner Index.
abstract: The ability of the Response Bias Scale (RBS) and the Henry-Heilbronner Index (HHI), along with several other MMPI-2 validity scales, to predict performance on two separate stand-alone symptom validity tests, the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) and the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT), was examined. Findings from this retrospective data analysis of outpatients seen within a Veterans Affairs medical center (N = 194) showed that group differences between those passing and failing the TOMM were largest for the RBS (d = 0.79), HHI (d = 0.75), and Infrequency (F; d = 0.72). The largest group differences for those passing versus failing the MSVT were greatest on the HHI (d = 0.83), RBS (d = 0.80), and F (d = 0.78). Regression analyses showed that the RBS accounted for the most variance in TOMM scores (20%), whereas the HHI accounted for the most variance in MSVT scores (26%). Nonetheless, due to unacceptably low positive and negative predictive values, caution is warranted in using either one of these indices in isolation to predict performance invalidity.
authors.affiliation: Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. kamarks@iupui.edu
authors.forename: Kriscinda A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Whitney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*