The Detection of Feigned Disabilities: The Effectiveness of the Personality Assessment Inventory in a Traumatized Inpatient Sample

Research on feigned mental disorders indicates that severe psychopathology coupled with significant trauma histories often complicate feigning determinations, resulting in inaccuracies on otherwise effective measures. As part of malingering assessments, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is often used because of its excellent validation and the availability of three feigning indicators (Negative Impression, Malingering Index, and Rogers Discriminant Function), which have evidenced large effect sizes and clinically useful cut scores. The current study examined the effectiveness of the PAI in a traumatized inpatient sample using a between-subjects simulation design. Although Negative Impression appeared affected by trauma—especially in conjunction with dissociative symptoms—very positive results were found for Malingering Index and Rogers Discriminant Function. They remained relatively unelevated under honest conditions, despite posttraumatic stress disorder and extensive comorbidity. Using single-p...