Citation

Arce R, Fariña F, Carballal A, Novo M. Psicothema 2009; 21(2): 241-247.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Departamento de Psicología de la Universidad de Oviedo, Publisher Colegio Oficial de Psicológicas de Asturias)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Psychological harm is one of the sequela of the victimization of a crime. Nevertheless, a diagnosis of psychological harm, that is, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), does not constitute sufficient evidence alone given that, in legal terms, faking or false testimony must be detected and eliminated before an expert testimony can be admitted. To assess the aptitudes and strategies for faking psychological harm associated with domestic violence, 101 women were asked to fake psychological harm using the MMPI-2 and a forensic clinical interview. The results showed that most women (84.2%) were capable of faking in MMPI-2. The original validity scales of the MMPI-2 and their configurations were effective for the detection of faking though with a wide margin of error was observed. In the forensic clinical interview, it was much more difficult to simulate since only 3 malingerers, in which protocols were not observed any feigning strategy, were capable of simulating the psychological injury linked to domestic violence. Consequently, a multi method approach (MMPI and interview) was contrasted and observed to classify correctly all subjects. Thus, a protocol for forensic assessment of the psychological harm consequence of domestic violence against women was formulated.