AbstractThe author presented anonymous questionnaires to 172 patients and 160 medical students to assess the frequency and correlates of malingering in various groups in a medical center on a V.A. campus. The results indicate that sociopaths, drug abusers, and alcoholics are more prone to malinger than other individuals, supporting previous assertions that mental health professionals should have a higher index of suspicion for malingering in these diagnostic groups. Race and age were found to have small but significant correlations with malingering, but at present, this finding must be viewed cautiously. No association was found between somatization disorder and malingering.