Assessment of Malingered PTSD: Evaluating Measurement Invariance in the Trauma Symptom Inventory-2 Atypical Responding Scale

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

In criminal proceedings, the opportunity for clemency based on the presence of mental illness provides incentive for offenders to feign psychiatric distress. As such, it is the role of forensic psychologists to evaluate the veracity of mental health claims and to determine the pre-offense or present level psychiatric morbidity. Given the reported ease with which psychological symptoms can be falsified (Arce, Farina, & Buela, 2008), several measures of malingering detection have been developed (Rogers & Bender, 2013). Prominent strategies include identifying unlikely or amplified presentations, as utilized by measures such as TSI-2-A ATR validity subscale. Using a simulation design, the present study examined the latent factor structure and measurement equivalency of symptom over-endorsement and atypical responding across two samples of undergraduates. The present study aimed to support assumptions of measurement invariance for the TSI-2-A ATR subscale across samples of students who reported past traumatic exposure and those without such reported trauma histories. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine whether the ATR subscale demonstrated a comparable underlying factor structure across groups. Additional iteratively restrictive tests of measurement invariance were implemented to further evaluate extent to which this scale can be interpreted equally across populations. Implications for practice are discussed.

Authors

• Katherine A. Fox, University of Houston

• John P. Vincent, University of Houston