Faking Bad in Workers Compensation Psychological Assessments: Elevation Rates of Negative Distortion Scales on the Personality Assessment Inventory in an Australian Sample

Abstract

The workers compensation system provides a clear external incentive for deliberate feigning of physical or mental illness to some individuals. Although it has been asserted that all pre-liability workers compensation psychological assessments should involve assessment of deliberate feigning, the lack of an agreed standard for assessing this response style creates a substantial challenge in practice. Over the last two decades, substantial attention has been given to measures of psychopathology that also include validated negative distortion indices. The Personality Assessment Inventory) has been validated in both the clinical and forensic population, and is reportedly used by many Australian psychologists. This study explores rates of elevation of negative distortion scales on the PAI as a potential indicator of deliberate feigning in a large Australian workers compensation sample.