Malingering: Summary and Conclusions

Abstract

Malingering is often of concern within the context of personal injury litigation or other medicolegal situations in which compensation or disability benefits for traumatic brain injury (TBI), chronic pain, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other psychoemotional problems may be at issue. Although there has been extensive study, there is still very poor understanding of what the incidence or prevalence of malingering may be in such situations. Estimates of incidence or prevalence vary widely, mitigating against the use of base rates in determining the utility or most appropriate cutting scores of any diagnostic sign or test result. Overall, there is generally only moderate and often inconsistent evidence that litigation or compensation status (i.e., those involved in litigation, applying for compensation or receiving compensation) by itself is associated with increased symptomatology or disability and there are many possible explanations for such a relationship independent of malingering.