Detecting malingering mental illness in forensics: Known-Group Comparison and Simulation Design with MMPI-2 SIMS and NIM

摘要

BackgroundCriminal defendants may often exaggerate psychiatric symptoms either to appear non-accountable for their actions or to mitigate their imprisonment. Several psychometric tests have been proposed to detect malingering. These instruments are often validated by Simulation Design (SD) protocols, where normal participants are explicitly requested to either simulate a mental disorder or respond honestly. However, the real scenarios (clinical or forensic) are often very challenging because of the presence of genuine patients, so that tests accuracy frequently differs from that one obtained in well-controlled experimental settings. Here we assessed the effectiveness in criminal defendants of three well-known malingering-detecting tests (MMPI-2, SIMS and NIM) by using both Known-Group Comparison (KGC) and Simulation Design (SD) protocols.