Influence of age, education, and blast exposure on the Test of Memory Malingering in an active-duty military sample

Neuropsychologists use performance validity tests (PVT) to detect performance invalidity across various populations. Unexpected scores for normative and clinical populations on PVT performance could invalidate the assessment if the poor performance does not have a reasonable explanation. One of the most well-validated and frequently used PVT is the Test of Memory Malingering, whose usefulness has been analyzed in various populations, including the military. Studies on the influence of demographic variables and blast exposure on the performance of military samples have yielded inconclusive results. The current study investigates the influence of age, education, and blast exposure on the TOMM Trial 2 in a military sample that is representative of their demographics. The total sample size was 872 participants between 18-62 years of age (M = 26.35, SD = 6.63), divided into 832 males and 40 females. All participants were on active duty, and they had been deployed in war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were referred to Carolina Psychological Health Services from the Naval Hospital of Camp LeJeune for psychological and/or neurological complaints, such as cognitive difficulties. The results show that age, education, and blast exposure variations do not affect TOMM performance. Further studies on the relationship between these variables should be pursued to elucidate how they are associated with the normative or clinical cognitive functioning of military populations.