ABSTRACT

Every neuropsychological evaluation requires a determination regarding the validity of the data obtained. The confidence that can be placed in such determinations is dependent upon the nature of the data and the context in which they were obtained. Although, in clinical contexts, decisions of whether to use symptom validity measures or symptom validity indicators embedded within or derived from neurocognitive measures remains at the discretion of the examiner, psychometric assessment of response validity is clearly superior to an examiner’s subjective opinion when making an informed judgment about the validity of neuropsychological data (Faust, Hart, Guilmette, & Arkes, 1988). Furthermore, neuropsychologists must administer symptom validity tests and perform relevant procedures to aid in the determination of the validity of data obtained during the evaluation when (1) the potential for secondary gain increases the incentive for dissimulation and (2) the examiner becomes suspicious of insufficient effort or inaccurate or incomplete reporting (Bush et al., 2005). The need to assess symptom validity with appropriate quantitative methods applies to examinees ranging in age from childhood through older adult (Ashendorf, O’Bryant, & McCaffrey, 2003; Faust, Hart, & Guilmette, 1988; Lu & Boone, 2002), as well as to those with well-documented neurological impairment (Bianchini, Greve, & Love, 2003).