SIRS-2
Definition
Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms, Second Edition; 172-item structured interview with eight primary scales for detecting feigned psychiatric symptoms; yields genuine, indeterminate, or feigning classification.
- Full name
- Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms, Second Edition
- Format
- 172-item structured interview
- Scale count
- 8 primary scales
- Output classification
- Genuine, indeterminate, or feigning
Common questions
What kind of malingering does SIRS-2 screen for, and what does it not cover?+
SIRS-2 is designed to detect feigned or exaggerated psychiatric symptoms, such as reported hallucinations or mood disturbance, and it is not a measure of feigned cognitive impairment, which requires separate neuropsychological validity tests.
Why might an evaluator get an indeterminate SIRS-2 result?+
An indeterminate classification means the response pattern falls between clearly genuine and clearly feigning, which can happen with genuinely severe psychopathology, partial exaggeration, or an atypical presentation, and it signals the need for further assessment rather than a firm conclusion.
Related terms
- Below-Chance Performance
- Performance on a two-alternative forced-choice task below the 50% chance level; statistically impossible through genuine impairment; meets SSI Criteria Group A for...
- Factitious Disorder
- Intentional production of symptoms motivated by psychological need to assume the sick role, without external incentive; distinct from malingering in motivation; not...
- M-FAST
- Miller Forensic Assessment of Symptoms Test; 25-item brief screen for feigned psychopathology; designed for jail and pretrial settings where full SIRS-2 is...
- MAL (Malingering Index)
- PAI configuration-based supplementary index developed for forensic populations to detect feigned psychopathology; used alongside NIM and clinical scales.
- Malingering
- Intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated symptoms motivated by external incentives; a DSM-5 V-code (not a mental disorder) applicable when incentive...
- Performance Validity Test (PVT)
- Any test designed to detect inadequate effort or deliberate underperformance in cognitive assessment; TOMM is the leading example for memory; embedded PVTs...
- Response Style
- The systematic approach an individual uses in reporting symptoms and behaviour during assessment; includes genuine, amplification, fabrication, defensiveness, and random responding.
- Rogers Detection of Deception Model
- Multi-source, hypothesis-testing framework for response-style assessment; requires convergent evidence from at least two data sources and explicit consideration of alternative hypotheses before...
- Slick-Sherman-Iverson Criteria
- 1999 classification framework for Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction; four levels (Definite, Probable, Possible, Not MND) based on convergent evidence criteria.
- Symptom Amplification
- Exaggeration of genuine symptoms beyond their actual severity; common and does not automatically meet the malingering threshold; requires integration with all assessment...
- TOMM
- Test of Memory Malingering; 50-item forced-choice visual recognition task; Trial 2 score below 45/50 indicates performance invalidity; most widely validated memory PVT.