The Clinical Psychology program invites the university community to a thesis defense for Malarie Ours on April 27, 2017 at 10:00 am in LA 2120.
Thesis title: The Utility of the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology with Individuals with Dissociative Identity Disorder
Thesis committee: Dr. Brand (chair), Dr. Mortenson and Dr. Kukucka
Abstract: Individuals with dissociative disorders are at risk of being misclassified as malingering by validity scales on psychological measures. These individuals are likely to endorse a wide range of psychiatric symptoms, due to well-documented comorbid disorders and dissociative symptoms that characterize this population. There is a lack of research and knowledge in this area, and misclassification may have a detrimental impact on individuals with dissociative disorders. This study sought to assess whether the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) is a valid measure for individuals with dissociative identity disorder (DID). Results show that 67.7% of individuals with DID were misclassified as malingerers by the SIMS. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between dissociative experiences and high scores on the SIMS. Further research on the use of this assessment with a dissociative population is required.
