Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

William Fremouw

Abstract

From feigning psychosis to avoid prosecution to claiming an anxiety disorder to receive disability insurance, people from all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds have been suspected of or found to be malingering (Rogers, 1997). The present study investigated the utility of two assessment measures in detecting malingered PTSD: the Morel Emotional Numbing Test-Revised (MENT-R) and Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST). The Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress (DAPS) was used as the criterion variable for the following groups: clinical PTSD, subclinical PTSD, honest responders, and coached malingerers. Total scores on the MENT-R distinguished among the four groups of participants. The three groups responding honestly averaged fewer than 3.5 errors, while malingerers missed over 5 times that number. Scores on the M-FAST were also higher for the group of participants malingering. Although the MENT-R and M-FAST correctly identified 63% and 78% of coached malingerers respectively, the combined use of both measures resulted in the correct classification of over 90% of the participants instructed to malinger PTSD.

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