Evaluation of Malingering and Deception
Evaluators in a forensic context cannot accept unquestioningly a respondent’s answers as a valid or optimal representation of mental state. The motivation to respond in a self-serving fashion for secondary gain is readily apparent (e.g., financial reward in a personal injury case; custody of a child in a custody dispute; the assumption, often incorrect, of a shorter period of restricted freedom in an insanity case). Consequently, forensic experts must consider the possibility that the examinee may have attempted to distort test results because of malingering, exaggeration, and defensiveness. Neither rare nor very common in forensic evaluations, malingering is estimated to occur in 15% to 17% of forensic cases (Rogers, Salekin, Sewell, Goldstein, & Leonard, 1998; Rogers, Sewell, & Goldstein, 1994). In the chapter by Richard Rogers and Scott Bender of this volume, they present an overview of conceptual issues and response styles related to malingering and defensiveness. They describe explanatory models of why individuals may attempt to portray psychological and physical impairments, and they examine major empirical issues and false assumptions frequently made about malingering. Rogers and Bender review detection strategies designed to identify response styles, including the use of both traditional and forensically relevant instruments, such as the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (Rogers, Bagby, & Dickens, 1992) and the Validity Indicator Profile (Fredrick, 1997).
Evaluators in a forensic context cannot accept unquestioningly a respondent’s answers as a valid or optimal representation of mental state. The motivation to respond in a self-serving fashion for secondary gain is readily apparent (e.g., financial reward in a personal injury case; custody of a child in a custody dispute; the assumption, often incorrect, of a shorter period of restricted freedom in an insanity case). Consequently, forensic experts must consider the possibility that the examinee may have attempted to distort test results because of malingering, exaggeration, and defensiveness. Neither rare nor very common in forensic evaluations, malingering is estimated to occur in 15% to 17% of forensic cases (Rogers, Salekin, Sewell, Goldstein, & Leonard, 1998; Rogers, Sewell, & Goldstein, 1994). In the chapter by Richard Rogers and Scott Bender of this volume, they present an overview of conceptual issues and response styles related to malingering and defensiveness. They describe explanatory models of why individuals may attempt to portray psychological and physical impairments, and they examine major empirical issues and false assumptions frequently made about malingering. Rogers and Bender review detection strategies designed to identify response styles, including the use of both traditional and forensically relevant instruments, such as the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (Rogers, Bagby, & Dickens, 1992) and the Validity Indicator Profile (Fredrick, 1997).
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