Concordance Between Standard and Abbreviated Administrations of the Test of Memory Malingering: Implications for Streamlining Performance Validity Assessment

Comparing the Independent and Aggregated Accuracy of Trial 1 and the First 10 TOMM Items for Detecting Invalid Neuropsychological Test Performance Across Civilian and Veteran Clinical Samples

“…That said, data from this study provided preliminary support for their potential aggregated use in that a clinician may be more confident that a T1 failure signals invalidity rather than a false positive error if T1e10 was also failed. Our findings from the current study are largely consistent with prior literature demonstrating good concordance between T1 and T1e10 in clinical settings (Ovsiew et al, 2021) and lend further support to the assertion that T1e10 is a robust predictor of T1 performance (Denning, 2021). In particular, this study demonstrated, across both samples, that ≥4 T1e10 errors was associated with a 0% chance of ultimately passing T1, suggesting that examiners may be able to discontinue administration of the entire T1 or the rest of the TOMM after observing four or more errors on the first 10 items of T1.…”

“…Specifically, T1, when used alone, has demonstrated utility among community volunteers, veterans, civilians, older adults, and criminal forensic referrals. T1 has also shown comparable classification accuracy and psychometric properties to that of T2, when used following T1, even though T1 alone has a briefer administration time and reduces patient burden (Martin et al, 2020; Ovsiew et al, 2021). Additionally, T1e10 (i.e., the first 10 items of T1) has received increasing attention in the PVT literature, given its potential as another, even further abbreviated index from the TOMM (Denning, 2021; Grabyan et al, 2018; Kulas et al, 2014).…”

“…Although the standard administration of this test involves two trials, T1 has been shown to have robust utility as an independent PVT with accuracy rates that match the more traditionally used T2 (e.g., Cohen et al, 2021; Denning, 2012; 2021; Fazio et al, 2017; Greve et al, 2006; Martin et al, 2020; Kraemer et al, 2020; Webber et al, 2018). The use of the first ten items of T1 (T1e10) has also received growing research support as an even briefer measure (Denning, 2021; Grabyan et al, 2018; Kulas et al, 2014; Ovsiew et al, 2021). For this study, all patients were administered T1, and subsequent TOMM trials were not routinely given.…”

“…However, the full TOMM can take upward of 15–20 minutes to administer, leading to an exploration of abbreviated versions such as performance on TOMM Trial 1 (T1; e.g., O’Bryant et al, 2007) and number of errors on the first 10 items of T1 (T1e10; Denning, 2012). Numerous studies have supported T1’s robust classification rates for identifying invalid performance when used as an independent PVT in clinical and forensic contexts (e.g., Cohen et al, 2021; Denning, 2012; 2021; Fazio et al, 2017; Kraemer et al, 2020; Ovsiew et al, 2021; Webber et al, 2018). In fact, several studies have shown that T1 has equivalent accuracy and associated psychometric properties as the traditional TOMM Trial 2 (T2), even though T1 halves the test administration time burden (Greve et al, 2006; Martin et al, 2020; O’Bryant et al, 2008; Ovsiew et al, 2021; Schroeder et al, 2019).…”

“…Numerous studies have supported T1’s robust classification rates for identifying invalid performance when used as an independent PVT in clinical and forensic contexts (e.g., Cohen et al, 2021; Denning, 2012; 2021; Fazio et al, 2017; Kraemer et al, 2020; Ovsiew et al, 2021; Webber et al, 2018). In fact, several studies have shown that T1 has equivalent accuracy and associated psychometric properties as the traditional TOMM Trial 2 (T2), even though T1 halves the test administration time burden (Greve et al, 2006; Martin et al, 2020; O’Bryant et al, 2008; Ovsiew et al, 2021; Schroeder et al, 2019). For instance, Schroeder and colleagues (2019) found excellent classification rates for T1 in differentiating invalid from valid performance and no benefit to administering additional TOMM trials beyond T1.…”