Inviting Scientific Discourse on Traumatic Dissociation: Progress Made and Obstacles to Further Resolution
AbstractThis paper emerged from a five-part exchange on trauma-related dissociation in forensic contexts between the authors and Merckelbach and colleagues (2017 –2019). We find important areas of consensus, including that trauma exposure is associated with depersonalization and, occasionally, memory errors; reports of dissociative symptoms may be elevated due to non-trauma factors; error rates for diagnosing dissociative identity disorder are low; and mul tiple sources of information are required for assessing any symptom, including dissociation, in forensic contexts. Our goals in this paper are to accurately summarize ...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - June 12, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Test-Retest Reliability and Construct Validity of the Dutch Injustice Experience Questionnaire in Patients with Chronic Pain
This study aimed to investigate construct validity and test-retest reliability of the Dutch IEQ. Included patients were 281 adults with multi-factorial chronic pain (>  3 months) from two health care settings. All patients filled out questionnaires that measured perceived injustice, pain characteristics, central sensitization, disability, pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, depression, anxiety, PTSD symptoms, anger, and perceived illness threat. Thirteen hyp otheses on the strength of the correlations between the IEQ and the other measurements were formulated a priori. Correlations were calculated using Pearson co...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - June 9, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Ethical and Professional Considerations in the Forensic Assessment of Complex Trauma and Dissociation
AbstractEmpirical research spanning the past three decades has consistently upheld that traumatic experiences are prevalent (Gold,Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy, S(1), 114 –124,2008; Kilpatrick et al.Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(5), 537 –547,2013; Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders,& BestJournal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 61(6), 984 –991,1993). Therefore, the likelihood of encountering an individual who has experienced significant trauma within forensic settings is high (Dalenberg, Straus,& Ardill,2017). Further, forensic psychologists are frequently called upon to ...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - June 7, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
A Detailed Analyis of SIRS Versus SIRS-2 Critiques
AbstractThis commentary reviews and critiques three recent SIRS/SIRS-2 comparison studies that reported strongly worded criticisms of the SIRS-2 and appeared to conclude that the original SIRS was far more accurate than its revision. Research designs and methodological considerations for replication research are outlined, and these comparison studies are systematically evaluated regarding their strengths and limitations. As a particularly concerning finding, SIRS/SIRS-2 comparison studies have routinely collapsed SIRS-2 classification categories (genuine, indeterminate-general, indeterminate-evaluate, and feigning) rather ...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - June 5, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Complex trauma and the question of reasonableness of response in sexual harassment cases: Issues for treatment providers and forensic evaluators
AbstractThis paper discusses considerations for treating or evaluating sexual harassment claims in individuals with a history of complex trauma. The author reviews how a history of repeated trauma in early childhood increases risk for later victimization, including sexual harassment (Courtois& Ford,2013; Herman,1992). Further, she provides a brief overview of how attachment disruptions and other adverse childhood experiences (ACE) create difficulties with emotion and interpersonal regulation. She discusses how the complexity of the symptom profile provides a unique context for therapeutic intervention and evaluation, a...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - May 25, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Verifiability and Symptom Endorsement in Genuine, Exaggerated, and Malingered Pain
AbstractThe current study has investigated whether pure malingering, in which reported symptoms are nonexistent, partial malingering, in which existent symptoms are exaggerated, and genuine symptoms could be differentiated by applying the verifiability approach (VA) and the Self-Report Symptom Inventory (SRSI). The logic behind the VA is that deceivers ’ statements contain more non-verifiable information, whereas truth tellers’ accounts include more verifiable details. The SRSI taps into over-reporting by including a mix of genuine symptoms and implausible complaints (pseudosymptoms). We checked if participants (N =â...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - May 3, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Comparison of Clinical Psychologist and Physician Beliefs and Practices Concerning Malingering: Results from a Mixed Methods Study
AbstractMalingering, or intentional feigning of impairment for an external incentive, has been the topic of extensive psychological research in recent decades. The emphasis on symptom validity assessment in training, practice, and research in clinical psychology is not echoed across other health professions. While past surveys of clinical psychologists revealed positive beliefs and attitudes toward validity assessment, much less is known about physicians in this area, particularly in regard to how they identify suspected malingering. To address this gap, we surveyed a sample of demographically similar clinical psychologist...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - April 28, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Psychometric Performance of the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST) in Veteran PTSD Assessment
This study examined the psychometric properties of a widely used measure of symptom exaggeration, the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST, Miller,2001), in a sample of 209 (83.7% male) trauma-exposed veterans (57.9% probable current posttraumatic stress disorder; PTSD). M-FAST total scores evidenced acceptable internal consistency, but several subscales showed poor internal consistency. Factor analytic and item-response theory analyses identified seven poorly performing items. Comparisons with other measures of psychopathology and response validity (including subscales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Persona...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - April 14, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Optimization of Performance Validity Test (PVT) Cutoffs across Healthy and Non-Referred Clinical Research Samples
This study suggests that PVT cutoffs may be responsibly altered in a research context in the presence of a clinical condition. Future research should investigate if PVT classification accuracies can be improved in clinic al and forensic samples while considering clinical conditions. (Source: Psychological Injury and Law)
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - February 10, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Development of a Validity Scale for the Dissociative Experience Scale-Revised: Atypicality, Structure, and Inconsistency
In this study, six methods of enhancing validity were utilized: vocabulary and duration screening, manipulation checks, inconsistency, atypicality, and structure (unlikely pattern of responses). Six reverse-worded DES questions were developed to assess inconsistency, six questions regarding extremely rare or unknown symptoms assessed atypicality, and the difference between taxon and absorption items assessed structure. Honest, feigning, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) groups completed the assessment (N = 345) via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) or SurveyMonkey. All groups received a brief definition of dissocia...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - January 12, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Strength in Numbers or Quality over Quantity? Examining the Importance of Criterion Measure Selection to Define Validity Groups in Performance Validity Test (PVT) Research
This study investigated the accuracy of varying two-PVT combinations for establishing validity status and how adding a third PVT or applying more liberal failure cut-scores affects overall false-positive (FP)/-negative (FN) rates. Clinically referred veterans (N = 114; 30% clinically identified as invalid) completing a six-PVT protocol as during their evaluation were included. Concordance rates were calculated across all possible two-and three-PVT combinations at conservative and liberal cutoffs. Two-PVT combinations classified 72–91% of valid (0–4 % FPs) and 17–74% of invalid (0–40% FNs) cases, and three-PVT c...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - January 8, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Caregiver Issues and Concerns Following TBI: A Review of the Literature and Future Directions
AbstractSurvival following traumatic brain injury (TBI) has increased following advances in medical care. However, TBI survivors often experience significant deficits in cognitive function, psychological disturbance, and residual physical deficits. The caregivers for these survivors, who are often family members, may have limited capacity to provide the services and care that are required. Limitations in capacity may be attributable to poor preparation, increased burden, lack of appropriate resources, and lack of required support. Likewise, there are resultant consequences for the caregiver and the survivor. The purpose of...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - January 2, 2020 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Types of Malingering in PTSD: Evidence from a Psychological Injury Paradigm
AbstractThe extent to which persons may feign or malinger psychological symptoms is an important concern for civil litigation, specifically in the context of personal injury. The consequences inherent in personal injury cases involving psychological distress require an understanding of how malingering presents in medico-legal contexts, and how it can be assessed using available measures. Symptom validity tests (SVTs) and performance validity tests (PVTs) have been developed to assist in the detection of feigned psychological illness and neurocognitive impairment. While demonstrated divergence between symptom-based and perf...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - December 19, 2019 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Testamentary Capacity and Undue Influence: Assessments and Problematic Techniques
AbstractAs the population of the USA ages, mental health practitioners are increasingly called upon to assess civil capacities. This paper provides information regarding the assessment of testamentary capacity and the related issue of undue influence. A brief review of the legal standards that inform these types of assessments is provided, including a discussion of the Goodfellow legal criteria and the relationship between delusional thinking and validity of will or trust. This paper reviews methods for performing these types of assessments with both living and deceased testators, including a general overview of methodolog...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - December 17, 2019 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
Examining the Effectiveness of Restorative Justice in Reducing Victims ’ Post-Traumatic Stress
AbstractCrime victimisation is a significant life event that can lead to the development of post-traumatic symptomology. Compared with the general population, victims of crime are significantly more likely to present with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Restorative justice is an approach to criminal justice that considers the goal of the justice system to restore victims to their state pre-victimisation. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of restorative justice in reducing symptoms of post-traumatic stress that develop following victimisation. Relevant databases were searched to...
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - December 8, 2019 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research
