title: Specificity rates for non-clinical, bilingual, Mexican Americans on three popular performance validity measures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure specificity as failure rates for non-clinical, bilingual, Mexican Americans on three popular performance validity measures: (a) the language format Reliable Digit Span; (b) visual-perceptual format Test of Memory Malingering; and (c) visual-perceptual format Dot Counting, using optimal/suboptimal effort cut scores developed for monolingual, English-speakers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 61 consecutive referrals, aged between 18 and 65 years, with <16 years of education who were subjectively bilingual (confirmed via formal assessment) and chose the language of assessment, Spanish or English, for the performance validity tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Failure rates were 38% for Reliable Digit Span, 3% for the Test of Memory Malingering, and 7% for Dot Counting. For Reliable Digit Span, the failure rates for Spanish (46%) and English (31%) languages of administration did not differ significantly.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Optimal/suboptimal effort cut scores derived for monolingual English-speakers can be used with Spanish/English bilinguals when using the visual-perceptual format Test of Memory Malingering and Dot Counting. The high failure rate for Reliable Digit Span suggests it should not be used as a performance validity measure with Spanish/English bilinguals, irrespective of the language of test administration, Spanish or English.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Science , University of Texas Rio Grande Valley , Edinburg , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Philip G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Gasquoine
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Science , University of Texas Rio Grande Valley , Edinburg , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Amy A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Weimer
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychological Science , University of Texas Rio Grande Valley , Edinburg , TX , USA.
authors.forename: Arnoldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amador
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008568:Memory; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019303:Multilingualism; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hispanic Americans; Spanish–English bilingualism; effort in neuropsychological testing; false positive rates; symptom validity tests