The PAI and Feigning: A Cautionary Note on Its use in Forensic-Correctional Settings

Abstract

Indicators of feigned PAI profiles were derived from comparisons of simulators instructed to feign and genuine patient groups. Concerns are raised regarding whether these indicators are applicable to forensic and correctional populations and can be crossvalidated with a known-groups comparison. Compiling data on 57 malingerers and 58 genuine patients from two forensic and correctional sites, three primary indicators of feigning, Negative Impression (NIM) scale, Malingering Index, and the Rogers Discriminant Function (RDF) were investigated. Results suggested that the RDF was not applicable to forensic referrals. However, NIM 2 77T appeared to be a useful screen for forensic samples. In addition, convergent evidence of feigning was found across designs (simulation and known-groups) and samples (non-forensic and forensic) for extreme elevations on NIM (> 1101) and Malingering Index (? 5).

Keywords

Malingering feigning forensic assessment PAI response styles

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Butcher, J. N. , Dahlstrom, W. G. , Graham, J. R. , Tellegen, A. , & Kaemmer, B. (1989). MMPI-2 manual. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Gaies, L. A. (1993). Malingering of depression on the Personality Assessment Inventory. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida, Tampa.

Greene, R. L. (1997). Assessment of malingering and defensiveness by multiscale inventories. In R. Rogers (Ed.), Clinical assessment of malingering and deception (2nd ed., pp. 169-207). New York: Guilford.

Morey, L. C. (1991). Personality Assessment Inventory: Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Morey, L. C. (1996). An interpretive guide to the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Rogers, R. (1995). Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms. In R. Rogers (Ed.), Diagnostic and structured interviewing: A handbook for psychologists (pp. 245-257). Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

Rogers, R. (1997a). Current status of clinical methods. In R. Rogers (Ed.), Clinical assessment of malingering and deception (2nd ed., pp. 373-397). New York: Guilford.

Rogers, R. (1997b). Researching dissimulation. In R. Rogers (Ed.), Clinical assessment of malingering and deception (2nd ed., pp. 398-426). New York: Guilford.

Rogers, R. (1997c). Structured interviews and dissimulation. In R. Rogers (Ed.), Clinical assessment of malingering and deception (2nd ed., pp. 301-327). New York: Guilford.

10.

Rogers, R. , Bagby, R. M. , & Dickens, S. E. (1992). Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) and professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.

11.

Rogers, R. , Ornduff, S. R. , & Sewell, K. W. (1993). Feigning specific disorders: A study of the Psychological Assessment Inventory (PAI). Journal of Personality Assessment, 60, 554-560.

12.

Rogers, R. , Salekin, R. T. , Sewell, K. W. , Goldstein, A. , & Leonard, K. (1998). A comparison of forensic and nonforensic malingerers: A prototypical analysis of explanatory models. Law and Human Behavior, 22, 353-367.

13.

Rogers, R. , Sewell, K. W. , Morey, L. C. , & Ustad, K. L. (1996). Detection of feigned mental disorders on the Personality Assessment Inventory: A discriminant analysis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67, 629-640.

14.

Rogers, R. , Sewell, K. W. , & Salekin, R. (1994). A metaanalysis of malingering on the MMPI-2. Assessment, 1, 227-237.

15.

Rogers, R. , Sewell, K. W. , Ustad, K. L. , Reinhardt, V. , & Edwards, W. (1995). The Referral Decision Scale in a jail sample of disordered offenders. Law and Human Behavior, 19, 481-492.

16.

Rogers, R. , Ustad, K. L. , & Salekin, R. T. (1998). Convergent validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory: A study of emergency referrals in a correctional setting. Assessment, 5, 3-12.

17.

Ventura, J. , Green, M. F. , Shaner, A. , & Liberman, R. P. (1993). Training and quality assurance with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale: "The drift busters." International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 3, 221-244.

18.

Wang, E. W. , Rogers, R. , Giles, C. L. , Diamond, P. M. , Herrington-Wang, L. E. , & Taylor, E. R. (1997). A pilot study of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in corrections: Assessment of malingering, suicide risk, and aggression in male inmates. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 15, 469-482.