Development and Validation of the Stanford Binet-5 Rarely Missed Items-Nonverbal Index for the Detection of Malingered Mental Retardation

Abstract

Current research suggests that effort indices designed for the detection of malingered neurocognitive functioning do not have adequate sensitivity or specificity for use in cases where malingered mental retardation (MR) is the issue. Therefore, development and validation of reliable, objective measures for the detection of malingered MR have become imperative for both forensic and disability cases in recent years. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an embedded malingering index for the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition. Data from individuals in the SB5 standardization sample, who had intellectual deficits in the MR range, were used. Items that were rarely missed by the MR sample were pooled and validated using a sample of 54 college students asked to feign MR. Nonverbal items that were missed significantly more frequently by the malingering "analog MR sample" were retained and composed the Stanford Binet Rarely Missed Items-Nonverbal (SBRMI-NV) index. When only individuals who successfully malingered MR (FSIQ < 71) were included, sensitivity of 0.88 and specificity of 1.00 were obtained. Results indicate that although the SBRMI-NV needs further validation, it shows great promise in the detection of malingered MR.