Exaggerated Pain Report in Litigants With Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction

Abstract

Twenty-nine litigants who met criteria for either definite or probable malingered neurocognitive dysfunction and reported chronic pain produced scores on the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Pain Disability Index (PDI), and Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ) that were significantly higher than scores produced by large samples of clinical pain patients. At 0.90 specificity, the MPQ, PDI, and MSPQ yielded sensitivities of 0.21, 0.59, and 0.90, respectively. The MSPQ alone, correlated significantly with the Lees-Haley Fake Bad Scale (FBS). Overall, the MSPQ is superior to the MPQ and PDI for detection of exaggerated pain symptoms.