title: Utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory for Detecting Malingered ADHD in College Students.
abstract: The purpose of the current study is to examine the utility of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) for detecting feigned ADHD in college students.
  
  
  
  A sample of 238 undergraduate students was recruited and asked to simulate ADHD (ADHD simulators) or respond honestly (controls) on the PAI. Archival data (n = 541) from individuals diagnosed with clinical ADHD, no diagnosis, learning disorder, mood/anxiety, comorbid ADHD-mood/anxiety, or suspect effort were used.
  
  
  
  Few individuals scored above the cutoffs on PAI validity scales. When alternative cutoff scores were examined, cutoffs of ≥77 on the Negative Impression Management (NIM) scale, ≥3 on the Malingering Index (MAL), and ≥1 on the Rogers Discriminant Function (RDF) yielded excellent specificity in all groups and sensitivities of .33, .30, and .20, respectively.
  
  
  
  Individuals who were asked to simulate ADHD easily manipulate the PAI; however, alternative cutoff scores proposed for PAI validity indices may improve the detection of feigned ADHD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA mandimusso@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mandi W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Musso
authors.affiliation: University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Alyse A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Barker
authors.affiliation: University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Russell D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Pella
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Wm Drew
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Gouvier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Personality Assessment Inventory; adult ADHD; college students; comorbid psychopathology; malingering