Validity of the Miller forensic assessment of symptoms test in psychiatric inpatients

Psychol Rep. 2005 Jun;96(3 Pt 1):771-4. doi: 10.2466/pr0.96.3.771-774.

Abstract

This study investigated the validity of the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST), a brief measure of malingering, in an inpatient psychiatric sample of 70. Among those patients who also completed the Personality Assessment Inventory (N=44), Total M-FAST score was related in the expected directions to the Personality Assessment Inventory validity scales and indexes, providing evidence for concurrent validity of the M-FAST. With the PAI malingering index used as a criterion, we examined the diagnostic efficiency of the M-FAST and found a cut score of 8 represented the best balance of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power. Based on this cut-score of 8, 16% of the population was classified as malingering. The M-FAST appears to be an excellent rapid screen for symptom exaggeration in this population and setting.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
  • Female
  • Forensic Psychiatry / methods*
  • Hospitalization
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Malingering / diagnosis*
  • Mental Disorders / rehabilitation*
  • Personality Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Personality Inventory
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity