Symptom Validity Test Performance and Consistency of Self-Reported Memory Functioning of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom Veterans with Positive Veteran Health Administration Comprehensive Traumatic Brain Injury Evaluations

Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans given definite diagnoses of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) during the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Comprehensive TBI evaluation and reporting no post-deployment head injury were examined to assess (a) consistency of self-reported memory impairment and (b) symptom validity test (SVT) performance via a two-part study. Study 1 found that while 49 of 50 veterans reported moderate to very severe memory impairment during the VHA Comprehensive TBI evaluation, only 7 had reported any memory problem at the time of their Department of Defense (DOD) post-deployment health assessment. Study 2 found that of 38 veterans referred for neuropsychological evaluations following a positive VHA Comprehensive TBI evaluation, 68.4% failed the Word Memory Test, a forced choice memory recognition symptom validity task. Together, these studies raise questions concerning the use of veteran symptom self-report for TBI assessments and argue for the inclusion of SVTs and the expanded use of contemporaneous DOD records to improve the diagnostic accuracy of the VHA Comprehensive TBI evaluation.