Dimensions of Self-Serving Misrepresentation in Forensic Assessment

I conducted an exploratory principal components analysis of 15 scales that evaluate a variety of possible self-serving biases using assessment data from 101 general forensic clients. Three distinct factors emerged, representing exaggeration of psychiatric symptoms versus exaggeration of personal adjustment, exaggeration of virtue, and exaggeration of physical health difficulties. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the findings. The surprising fact that none of the scales contained a significant number of items representing the affirmation or exaggeration of positive mental health adjustment precluded the possibility of finding a specific factor in that area. The factor structure was similar to previous results based on personal injury evaluations alone, suggesting that this 3-factor categorization of self-serving misrepresentation has some degree of generality, at least in forensic settings.