Validation of a new technique to detect malingering of cognitive symptoms:The b Test

We administered the b Test, a new measure to identify malingering requiring recognition of overlearned information, to 34 suspected malingerers and to 161 subjects in various clinical groups (moderate to severe head injury, e lderly depressed learning disability, schizophrenia, right and left CVA, an d elderly normals). Comparisons of groups revealed more commission and omis sion errors in the suspected mn(malingerers relative to all groups except t he right stroke patients. In addition, suspected malingerers rook longer lo complete the task than all groups except right and left stroke patients an d normal elderly. A cutoff of >2 commission errors produced a sensitivity o f 76.5% mid specificity for all comparison groups combined of 82.6%. Lower sensitivity rates were documented for omissions (58.8 using cutoff of >40) and time (57.6% using cutoff of >12 minutes), brit specificity remained hig h at 85.1% and 83.9%, respectively. Thus, the b Test shows considerable pot ential as a malingering detection tool. (C) 2000 National Academy of Neurop sychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.