An alternative approach to TOMM cutoff scores using a large sample of military personnel

Abstract

The accuracy of neuropsychological assessments relies on participants exhibiting their true abilities during administration. The Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) is a popular performance validity test used to determine whether an individual is providing honest answers. While the TOMM has proven to be highly sensitive to those who are deliberately exaggerating their symptoms, there is a limited explanation regarding the significance of using 45 as a cutoff score. The present study aims to further investigate this question by examining TOMM scores obtained in a large sample of active-duty military personnel (N = 859, M = 26 years, SD = 6.14, 97.31% males, 72.44% white). Results indicated that no notable discrepancies existed between the frequency of participants who scored a 45 and those who scored slightly below a 45 on the TOMM. The sensitivity and specificity of the TOMM were derived using the forced-choice recognition (FCR) scores obtained by participants on the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II). The sensitivity for each trial of the TOMM was 0.84, 0.55, and 0.63, respectively; the specificity for each trial of the TOMM was 0.69, 0.93, and 0.92, respectively. Because sensitivity and specificity rates are both of importance in this study, balanced accuracy scores were also reported. Results suggested that various alternative cutoff scores produced a more accurate classification compared to the traditional cutoff of 45. Further analyses using Fisher’s exact test also indicated that there were no significant performance differences on the FCR of the CVLT-II between individuals who received a 44 and individuals who received a 45 on the TOMM. The current study provides evidence on why the traditional cutoff may not be the most effective score. Future research should consider employing alternative methods which do not rely on a single score.