Examining the cross-cultural validity of the test of memory malingering and the Rey 15-item test

Abstract

Objective

This study was designed to investigate the cross-cultural validity of two freestanding performance validity tests (PVTs), the Test of Memory Malingering – Trial 1 (TOMM-1) and the Rey Fifteen Item Test (Rey-15) in Romanian-speaking patients.

Methods

The TOMM-1 and Rey-15 free recall (FR) and the combination score incorporating the recognition trial (COMB) were administered to a mixed clinical sample of 61 adults referred for cognitive evaluation, 24 of whom had external incentives to appear impaired. Average scores on PVTs were compared between the two groups. Classification accuracies were computed using one PVT against another.

Results

Patients with identifiable external incentives to appear impaired produced significantly lower scores and more errors on validity indicators. The largest effect sizes emerged on TOMM-1 (Cohen’s d = 1.00–1.19). TOMM-1 was a significant predictor of the Rey-15 COMB ≤20 (AUC = .80; .38 sensitivity; .89 specificity at a cutoff of ≤39). Similarly, both Rey-15 indicators were significant predictors of TOMM-1 at ≤39 as the criterion (AUCs = .73–.76; .33 sensitivity; .89–.90 specificity).

Conclusion

Results offer a proof of concept for the cross-cultural validity of the TOMM-1 and Rey-15 in a Romanian clinical sample.

Keywords:

• Cross-cultural neuropsychology
• performance validity
• Rey-15
• TOMM-1
• TOMMe10

Ethical approval

All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The project was approved by the University’s Research Ethics Board.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Consent for publication

Consent for publication was obtained from all authors.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Data availability statement

Data are available upon request.