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Examining Base Rates of Symptom Endorsement and the Roles of Sex and Depressive Symptoms on the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomology (SIMS) in a Non-clinical Population

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Abstract

Symptom validity tests (SVTs) assist in ensuring that our diagnostic conclusions are grounded in credible psychometric results. The Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomology (SIMS) is often employed to identify overreporting among respondents. The present study examined base rate scores on the SIMS in an undergraduate sample and the role of biological sex and the presence of depressive symptoms. Participants (N = 93) completed the SIMS, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Of the participants, 50.00% were characterized as overreporting based on the cutoff score suggested in the SIMS manual (> 14); 40.00% were characterized as such based on a well-suggested cutoff score in the current literature (> 16); and 8.57% were characterized as such when the highest suggested cutoff score in the literature was applied (> 24). The multivariate result was not significant for sex or language status. A strong positive correlation was found between the SIMS total score with the BDI-II total score (r = .425), the PAI depression-cognitive scale (r = .502) and the PAI depression-affective scale (r = .491). The SIMS total score must be considered on an individual basis to decrease the possibility of a false positive conclusion regarding symptom veracity. Depressive symptomology may be a key moderator in that cognitive biases held by individuals with depressive symptoms may be associated with elevated scores on the SIMS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Aqsa Zahid & Konstantine K. Zakzanis

  2. Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Sonya Dhillon & Konstantine K. Zakzanis

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  1. Aqsa Zahid
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  2. Sonya Dhillon
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  3. Konstantine K. Zakzanis
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Correspondence to Konstantine K. Zakzanis.

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Zahid, A., Dhillon, S. & Zakzanis, K.K. Examining Base Rates of Symptom Endorsement and the Roles of Sex and Depressive Symptoms on the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomology (SIMS) in a Non-clinical Population. Psychol. Inj. and Law 16, 18–26 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-021-09439-5

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