Year of Publication
2016
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. David T. R. Berry
Abstract
Due to increased concern about malingered self-report of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in college students, there is a need for instruments that can detect feigning. The present study provided further validation data for a recently developed validity scale for the Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS), the CAARS Infrequency Index (CII). The sample consisted of 139 undergraduate students; 21 individuals with diagnoses of ADHD, 29 individuals responding honestly, 54 individuals responding randomly (full or half), and 35 individuals assigned to malinger. The CII demonstrated modest sensitivity to malingering (.31-.46) and excellent specificity to ADHD (.91-.95). Sequential application of validity scales had correct classification rates of honest (93.1%), ADHD (81.0%), malingering (57.1%), half random (42.3%), and full random (92.9%).
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.325
Recommended Citation
Walls, Brittany D., "Utility of the CAARS Validity Scales in Identifying Feigned ADHD, Random Responding, and Genuine ADHD in a College Sample" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--Psychology. 96.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psychology_etds/96