BACKGROUND: The Rey 15-Item Memory Test (RMT) is frequently used to detect malingering. Many objections to the test have been raised. Nevertheless, the test is still widely used. OBJECTIVE: To provide a meta-analysis of the available studies using the RMT and provide an overall assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of the test, based on the cumulative data. RESULTS: The results show that, excluding patients with mental retardation, the RMT has a low sensitivity but an excellent specificity. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide the basis for the ongoing use of the test, given that it is acceptable to miss some cases of malingering with such a screening test, but one does not want to have many false positives.
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Lawrie Reznek (2004) studied this question.