Skip Navigation



Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology Advance Access published online on April 9, 2009
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, doi:10.1093/arclin/acp020
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
24/2/145    most recent
acp020v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Whitney, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Adams, K. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Whitney, K. A.
Right arrow Articles by Adams, K. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

The Medical Symptom Validity Test in the evaluation of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom soldiers: A preliminary study

Kriscinda A. Whitneya,b,*, Polly H. Shepardb,c, Amanda L. Williamsd, Jeremy J. Davise and Kenneth M. Adamsf

a Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA
b Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
c Professional Psychological Services, Indianapolis, IN, USA
d Ball State University, Muncie, IN, USA
e University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA
f VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

* Corresponding author at: Richard L. Roudebush, Veterans Affairs Medical Centre (116P), 1481 W., 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Tel.: +1 317 988 2006; fax: +1 317 988 3578. E-mail address: kamarks{at}iupui.edu


  Abstract

The clinical utility of the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT) for soldiers returning from service in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom was preliminarily investigated through retrospective chart review. Results showed that 17%, or 4 of 23, Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom patients at a Polytrauma Network Site (Level 2), performed below cut-offs on the MSVT. On "easy" subtests of the MSVT, the group of individuals who failed the MSVT performed significantly worse than the group of individuals who passed. However, there were no significant group differences on the "hard" subtests of the MSVT. When the profiles of individuals who failed the MSVT were examined, none of them met the criteria for the Dementia Profile. These preliminary findings and additional test data supported the conclusion that participants who failed the MSVT were exhibiting diminished symptom validity, suggesting that the specificity of the MSVT was 100%.

Keywords Neuropsychology; Malingering; Military Veterans; Traumatic brain injury; Test validity; Memory

Accepted: March 13, 2009


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.