Likelihood of obtaining Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) and SIRS-2 elevations among forensic psychiatric inpatients with screening elevations on the Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test.

Abstract

The Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test (M-FAST) was designed as a screening measure for feigned psychiatric symptoms. When M-FAST Total Scores are elevated (raw score ≥6), the test manual recommends follow-up with a more comprehensive measure of feigning, such as the widely used and researched Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS) or the revised version of the test (SIRS-2). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate how often M-FAST screening elevations are associated with subsequent elevations on the SIRS or SIRS-2. The sample included archival data from 100 forensic psychiatric inpatients who obtained M-FAST Total Score elevations ≥6 during screening and were subsequently administered the SIRS (that was also rescored using SIRS-2 criteria). Among examinees who elevated the M-FAST over the recommended cutoff, 66.0% met standard SIRS feigning criteria, 42% met SIRS-2 criteria for feigning, and 81.0% obtained at least 1 SIRS/SIRS-2 elevation in the Probable Feigning range or higher. These results are consistent with the M-FAST manual guidelines, which support the use of the ≥6 M-FAST cutoff score to screen for potential feigning (but not as an independent marker of feigning). A higher M-FAST cutoff score of ≥16 was associated with subsequently meeting full SIRS criteria for feigning in 100.0% of protocols. Because the SIRS criteria were designed to have very low false positive rates, these findings indicate that more confident assertions about feigning can be made when elevations reach this level on the MFAST. (PsycINFO Database Record