Use of the TOMM in a Criminal Court Forensic Assessment Setting

Abstract

Use of the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM) in a criminal court forensic assessment setting was examined. Results indicated that those initially suspected of cognitive malingering and, thus, administered the TOMM, differed from others in this setting in ways that are consistent with descriptions of suspected cognitive malingerers in the existing literature. These defendants’TOMMscores were also consistent with those reported in samples characterized by relatively high base rates of cognitive malingering. Defendants whose TOMMscores met the recommended criteria for detecting malingering (n = 29) were more likely to report a previous head injury, to be viewed as only marginally cooperative or uncooperative during the course of the evaluation, and to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder than those who did not generate suspicious TOMM scores.