Classification accuracy of individual and combined executive functioning embedded performance validity measures in mild traumatic brain injury

ABSTRACT

The development of more sophisticated performance validity measures is important due to concerns with coaching as well as providing clinicians with a greater variety of options when assessing performance validity. Examinees with noncredible performance may find it more difficult to elude detection by PVTs derived from arithmetical summation or logistic regression. The present study evaluated the classification accuracy of several executive functioning (EF) variables as PVTs both individually and when combined into derived variables. The current study evaluated a simple mathematic summation of embedded PVT scores and a logistic regression-based formula based on embedded PVTs from executive function measures. A total of 155 consecutive patients completed neuropsychological evaluation after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) were studied and were placed into a PVT-PASS (N = 95, mean age = 44.9, SD = 12.55, mean education = 13.45, SD = 2.23, 38% male, 97% Caucasian) or PVT-FAIL group (N = 60, mean age = 44.1, SD = 15.47, mean education = 13.05, SD = 2.58, 55% male, 92% Caucasian). Trail Making Test B, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Stroop Color Word Test were summed and also used in logistic regression to predict whether patients had credible performance. Both the mathematical summation and the logistic regression methods achieved excellent classification accuracy (summation AUC = .79; logistic regression AUC = .82) with higher sensitivity than individual PVTs.

KEYWORDS:

• Executive function
• logistic regression
• mild traumatic brain injury
• performance validity tests

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.