A collaborative approach to managing student malingering

The authors present a case study of a successful collaborative effort to reduce student malingering in a school-based health center and to address the academic and social problems related to overuse of center services. School-based health centers have been identified as important sources of support for teenagers who have emotional and psychological problems, and, in this case, the overuse of a school-based health center is linked to such challenges for a substantial subset of students. It demonstrates that it is possible to identify, based on their status as frequent center users, students with potentially serious academic, family, or personal problems who are at risk for academic failure. The case involves multiple professionals, from a variety of disciplines, who dealt successfully with the problems associated with overuse of center services.