Determinations of Malingering: Evolution from Case-Based Methods to Detection Strategies

Abstract

Methods for the classification of malingering have advanced from idiosyncratic case studies to systematic research. As an outgrowth of individual feigning scales, detection strategies have been developed and validated that are conceptually based and tested across measures. This article briefly reviews detection strategies for two distinct domains: feigned cognitive impairment and feigned mental disorders. It examines general categories of detection strategies (i.e., unlikely and amplified) and clinical methods (e.g., multiscale inventories and structured interviews). Recommendations are presented for malingering screens and malingering determinations.

Key words:

• detection strategies
• feigning
• malingering

Notes

This paper is based partly on the opening keynote lecture by Rogers (2007) for the Third International Congress of Psychology and Law, Adelaide, Australia, 2007. The discussion of detection strategies is distilled from Rogers (2008a), Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception.