Detecting Feigned ADHD in Later Adolescence: An Examination of Three PAI–A Negative Distortion Indicators

Abstract

The validity of various indicators of response distortion on the Personality Assessment Inventory–Adolescent (PAI–A; Morey, 2007a) and its potential usefulness to detect malingering were evaluated by having 17- and 18-year-old students complete the PAI–A attempting to simulate Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) under coached or noncoached conditions. Scores for these respondents on the Negative Impression and Positive Impression scales, the Malingering Index, and the Rogers Discriminant Function (RDF) were compared to those of 17- and 18-year-old patients receiving clinical diagnoses of ADHD. Simulating respondents also completed the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) to determine if they could successfully simulate self-reported symptoms of ADHD. A total of 45% of simulating participants obtained CAARS scores reflecting clinically significant symptoms of ADHD. All indicators demonstrated the ability to distinguish between actual patients and feigned responses of successful simulators, with the RDF demonstrating the greatest accuracy in distinguishing these groups.