An overview of malingering and deception in neuropsychiatric cases

Behav Sci Law. 2024 Jan-Feb;42(1):28-38. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2636. Epub 2023 Dec 4.

Abstract

Forensic practitioners must shoulder special responsibilities when evaluating over-stated pathology (e.g., malingering) as well as simulated adjustment. Such determinations may modify or even override other clinical findings. As a result, practitioners must be alert to their own misassumptions that may unintentionally bias their conclusions about response styles. Detection strategies for malingering-based on unlikely or markedly amplified presentations-are highlighted in this article. Given page constraints, assessment methods for feigning are succinctly presented with their applications to administrative, civil, and criminal referrals.

Keywords: SIRS-2; feigning; malingering; multiscale inventories; overstated pathology; simulated adjustment.

MeSH terms

  • Criminals*
  • Deception
  • Humans
  • Malingering* / diagnosis
  • Reproducibility of Results