EVALUATION OF MALINGERING IN THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF MILD HEAD-INJURY

The evaluation of malingering in the neuropsychological examination of mild head injury is a multiple method diagnostic process that takes i nto consideration injury severity, typical neuropsychological test per formance patterns, differential diagnosis of other medical and psychia tric disorders, and the use of neuropsychological indicators of subopt imal effort. Current methods and trends in the evaluation of malingeri ng are reviewed, including the use of specialized tests of effort and motivation and the application of conventional neuropsychological test s. Symptom validity techniques and tests with a multiple-choice format along with statistically-derived univariate and multivariate formulas appear to considerable merit in the detection of suboptimal effort or malingering.