The Simulation and Dissimulation of Multiple Personality Disorder

Abstract

Forensic consultants have been concerned with an increasing number of cases in which defendants are represented as suffering multiple personality disorder (MPD). This trend may continue and accelerate because 1) more clinicians recognize the condition; 2) a period of reactive overdiagnosis may occur subsequent to decades of underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis; and 3) opportunistic exploitation of MPD as a fraudulent defense can be expected. The study of MPD is a new and controversial field, barely out of its infancy. Therefore, evaluation of individuals suspected of having MPD proceeds under several burdens. This report has two parts. In the first, certain published suggestions are reviewed in the light of current knowledge. In the second, a large series of MPD patients was reviewed to see whether genuine MPD patients manifest behaviors that overlap with those demonstrated by malingerers. Illustrative cases of simulation, dissimulation, and attorney-instigated introduction of the consideration of MPD are discussed. Guidelines are offered for approaching common dilemmas.