[Assessment of malingering and dissimulation in the examination of subjects with mental and psychosomatic disorders].

Résumé

The consideration of response bias is essential in the assessment of mental and psychosomatic disorders. In forensic contexts, as compared to clinical evaluations, an elevated rate of response distortions must be expected. Assessment methods should be selected with respect to the risk of either malingering or defensiveness. The choice of assessment strategies and instruments depends on the legal context of the examination. It is recommended that the consistency and plausibility of data from different levels and sources should be systematically analysed. Psychological test results should be integrated in this analysis. If the purpose of a test is obvious to the patient, the test result should be interpreted with respect to results from additional validity scales or symptom validity tests. In civil forensic evaluations of mental and psychosomatic disorders, the use of criterion-based content analysis is expected to be of limited benefit for the validation of symptoms and disability.