Classification accuracy of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) Effort Index (EI) and Effort Scale (ES) relative to the Test Of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in a mixed clinical sample

Abstract

Performance Validity Testing has become an integral part of neuropsychological assessment, and a variety of embedded screening measures for performance validity have been proposed. Several performance validity indexes have been developed for the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status. Although the RBANS Effort Index (EI) and Effort Scale (ES) have garnered some empirical support, other research has raised questions regarding their accuracy in a number of assessment contexts. We evaluated the classification accuracy of the EI and ES against a standalone performance validity measure (Test of Memory Malingering; TOMM) in a mixed clinical patient sample. Our results showed limited utility for the ES in a mixed sample and modest classification accuracy for the EI, raising concerns about the appropriate scope of use for these scales in general clinical practice, which suggested that an alternate EI cutoff score of >0 may be most appropriate.

Keywords:

• Diagnostic accuracy
• neuropsychological assessment
• performance validity testing