Malingering a challenge for the forensic examiner

After pointing out that spoken and non-verbal language are the primary means of communication in interpersonal dialogue, and especially in a forensic criminological examination, the authors present malingering in a legal context from an historical and psychodynamic- ontogenetic point of view. Diagnostic characteristics of malingering are reported in a review of previous studies. Latest psychological testing is presented. The authors express their professional opinion that malingering in a criminological forensic setting should be divested of the aura of deviousness and manipulation acquired throughout the past years. They propose that it is a defensive reaction to which a person charged with a crime resorts when under the stress of facing the legal consequences of wrongdoing. They view malingering in a forensic setting as regressive behavior to a childhood or adolescent stage, not to condone or justify it, but in an attempt to bring about better communication between examiner and examinee.