Reducing False Positive Feigning Classifications on the SIRS among Criminal Defendants with a History of Trauma
Clinical research has demonstrated that individuals with a traumatic history elevate scales on the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS; Rogers, Bagby, & Dickens, 1992) leading to their misclassification as malingerers. Rogers, Payne, Correa, Gillard, and Ross (2009) created the trauma index (TI) by summing 3 SIRS scales to reduce the number of false positives in a severely traumatized sample. The TI was included as an additional criterion in determining feigning. The TI has not been studied using a forensic sample. Fifty-one adult male criminal defendants were identified as malingering by the SIRS with a final sample of 5 definite cases and 5 marginal cases that met the criteria set forth by Rogers et al. (2009). Detailed profiles were created for each case and individuals were classified as either feigning or honest respondents. Four cases were classified as honest respondents who would benefit from the inclusion of the TI into the SIRS criteria and 5 cases were identified as likely feigners who would be misclassified by the inclusion of the TI with the final case being inconclusive. Practical implications concerning the utility of the TI as an additional SIRS classification criterion in forensic samples are discussed.
Malingering, SIRS, Trauma, Medicine and Health Sciences, Psychiatry and Psychology
City University of New York - City College
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