Validation of psychometric scales for malingering in a student sample
dc.contributor.author | Theron F.H. | |
dc.contributor.author | Spangenberg J.J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Hugo F.J. | |
dc.contributor.author | Emsley R.A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Hemp F. | |
dc.contributor.author | Maritz J.S. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2011-05-15T15:57:48Z | |
dc.date.available | 2011-05-15T15:57:48Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2001 | |
dc.description.abstract | Objective. To determine South African cut scores for established tests of malingering. Design. A prospective study with an experimental group of subjects that was instructed to feign illness and a control group instructed to perform optimally on a set of psychometric tests. Setting. The study was conducted at the Medical School and main campus of the University of Stellenbosch. Subjects. Seventy-six under- and postgraduate university students. Outcome measures. Each subject completed the Dot-Counting Test (DCT), the Rey 15-item Test (Rey 15-item), the 21-item verbal memory Forced Choice Test (FCT), and the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS). Results. The DCT correctly identified 94% of the feigners by the combined (grouped and ungrouped dots) time score, using a cut-off time of ≤ 63.5 seconds. The Rey 15-item was less specific than the other tests and only the number-of-rows-correct score produced significant results with a correct classification of 88%. A cut score of ≤ 15 for the FCT correctly classified 94% of the malingerers and 100% of the subjects who were asked to perform optimally. The SIMS correctly classified 97% of subjects when a cut score of ≤ 20 was used. Conclusions. The most effective discriminators were the total time to complete the DCT, recognition memory on the 21-item FCT, and the SIMS total score. The results of this study should assist clinicians in South Africa in improving the diagnosis of malingering. | |
dc.description.version | Article | |
dc.identifier.citation | South African Journal of Psychiatry | |
dc.identifier.citation | 7 | |
dc.identifier.citation | 4 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 16089685 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/10603 | |
dc.subject | article | |
dc.subject | college student | |
dc.subject | controlled study | |
dc.subject | diagnostic accuracy | |
dc.subject | female | |
dc.subject | human | |
dc.subject | human experiment | |
dc.subject | intermethod comparison | |
dc.subject | male | |
dc.subject | malingering | |
dc.subject | memory | |
dc.subject | prospective study | |
dc.subject | psychiatric diagnosis | |
dc.subject | psychologic test | |
dc.subject | psychometry | |
dc.subject | rating scale | |
dc.subject | recognition | |
dc.subject | scoring system | |
dc.subject | South Africa | |
dc.subject | validation process | |
dc.title | Validation of psychometric scales for malingering in a student sample | |
dc.type | Article |