Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate differences in the occurrence of symptom over-reporting in insurants with and without migration background as well as to determine factors that predict the occurrence of symptom over-reporting. Methods: A survey-based screening of validating complaints including Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS), L-scale (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - MMPI-2), Health-49 and Predictive validity of a brief scale measuring the subjective prognosis of gainful employment (SPE-scale) was carried out with 457 German insurants and 138 insurants with migration background previous to their inpatient rehabilitation treatment. Results: Symptom over-reporting measured by the SIMS could be observed in 33% of the German insurants and 50% of the insurants with migration background. Highest predictive power relative to symptom over-reporting was achieved by Health-49-score followed by social class and sex. Conclusions: Percentage of symptom over-reporting is higher in insurants with migration background than in German insurants, but taking into account more factors, differences in German and Non-German insurants can be largely explained by differences in social class and gender distribution. Studies applying multi-method symptom validation are required to clarify the causes of high prevalence of sympom over-reporting in German and Non-German insurants. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart New York.

immigrants simulation Psychosomatic rehabilitation symptom validation Migration background

Germany differential diagnosis Diagnosis, Differential methodology validation study human comorbidity middle aged statistics Validation Studies as Topic Aged Humans neuropsychological test Neuropsychological Tests Treatment Outcome male female Aged, 80 and over Psychophysiologic Disorders reproducibility Reproducibility of Results prevalence sensitivity and specificity Psychometrics Article psychometry adult migration standard psychosomatic disorder Transients and Migrants