Ecological validity of performance validity testing.

Performance validity tests (PVTs) have been shown to relate to neuropsychological performance, but no studies have looked at the ecological validity of these measures. Data from 131 veterans with a history of mild traumatic brain injury from a multicenter Veterans Administration consortium were examined to determine the relation between scores on a self-report version of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory Participation Index, a measure of community participation, and the Word Memory Test, a PVT. A restricted regression model, including education, age, history of loss of consciousness, cognitive measures, and a measure of symptom validity test performance, was not significantly associated with self-reported community reintegration. Adding PVT results to the restricted model, however, did significantly improve the prediction of community reintegration as PVT failure was associated with lower self-reported community participation. The results of this study indicate that PVTs may also serve as an indicator of patients' functioning in the community.