Cues for feigning screening in whiplash associated disorders

The objective of this work is to evaluate the ability of a series of possible feigning indicators, extracted from relevant literature in the field, to discriminate between clinical patients with genuine symptomatology and instructed malingerers. A sample of 273 participants divided into two groups was used for this study: 153 whiplash associated disorder patients who were evaluated at a multidisciplinary medical center in the region of Murcia (Spain), between December 2017 and March 2019 and 120 healthy controls with malingering instructions, students of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Murcia. In order for researchers to evaluate the indicators included in the study, a 22-step checklist (CDS) was developed, consisting of 22 criteria divided into 5 dimensions. Our results show that 18 of 22 indicators could discriminate between groups. Dimension 2 "Attitude toward the situation of illness" presented the greatest capacity for discrimination. In general terms, malingerers express a much more negative experience of the condition than the clinical patients.