Performance Validity Testing and Aggression in a Forensic Inpatient Setting.

This study examined whether individuals who were assaultive at a forensic psychiatric inpatient hospital were more likely to be referred for malingering assessment and whether there was a difference in assaultive behavior between individuals who had non-valid test performance (NVTP) on Performance Validity Tests (PVTs) and those who demonstrated valid test performance (VTP). Of 136 assessments that met inclusion criteria, there were no statistically significant differences in inpatient aggression between the NVTP and VTP groups. However, when inpatient aggression of those 136 subjects was compared to the base rates of inpatient aggression in the general hospital population, a significant difference was found, suggesting that those patients who were referred for malingering testing by their treatment team had higher rates of inpatient aggression than the general hospital population. Implications regarding the role of clinical judgment in identifying individuals who are malingering will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]