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The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—III and Malingering in Traumatic Brain Injury

Classification Accuracy in Known Groups

University of New Orleans

Kevin W. Greve

University of New Orleans and Jefferson Neurobehavioral Group, kgreve{at}uno.edu

Kevin J. Bianchini

University of New Orleans and Jefferson Neurobehavioral Group

A known-groups design was used to determine the classification accuracy of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—III (WAIS-III) variables in detecting malingered neurocognitive dysfunction (MND) in traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI patients were classified into the following groups: (a) mild TBI not-MND (n = 26), (b) mild TBI MND (n = 31), and (c) moderate/severe (M/S) TBI not-MND (n = 26). A sample of 80 general clinical patients was used for comparison. Verbal IQ, Verbal Comprehension Index, and Working Memory Index detected approximately 25% of malingerers with a false positive (FP) error rate of approximately 5% in the mild TBI group. Comparable FP rates were obtained in M/S TBI. FP rates for Performance IQ, Perceptual Organization Index, and Processing Speed Index were acceptable in mild TBI but too high in M/S TBI. Previously studied specialized indicators (Vocabulary minus Digit Span and the Mittenberg formula) failed to differentiate malingerers from nonmalingerers. The clinical application of these findings is discussed.

Key Words: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale • malingering • traumatic brain injury • effort • classification accuracy • known groups

This version was published on December 1, 2009

Assessment, Vol. 16, No. 4, 401-414 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1073191109338161


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