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Symptom Validity Testing, Effort, and Neuropsychological Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2012

Erin D. Bigler
Erin D. Bigler*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah The Brain Institute of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Erin D. Bigler, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center, 1001 SWKT, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Symptom validity testing (SVT) has become a major theme of contemporary neuropsychological research. However, many issues about the meaning and interpretation of SVT findings will require the best in research design and methods to more precisely characterize what SVT tasks measure and how SVT test findings are to be used in neuropsychological assessment. Major clinical and research issues are overviewed including the use of the “effort” term to connote validity of SVT performance, the use of cut-scores, the absence of lesion-localization studies in SVT research, neuropsychiatric status and SVT performance and the rigor of SVT research designs. Case studies that demonstrate critical issues involving SVT interpretation are presented. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–11)

Keywords

Symptom validity testingSVTEffortResponse biasValidity
Type
Dialogue
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , July 2012 , pp. 632 - 640
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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