Abstract
Performance validity assessment has become a standard component of psychoeducational and neuropsychological evaluations (Sweet et al., 2021) but there is evidence to demonstrate that cultural variables can influence performance validity test outcomes. Given the critical role that performance validity assessment plays in determining the accuracy of neuropsychological and psychoeducational test data, it is imperative that these tests are unbiased across culturally diverse samples. The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the impact of race/ethnicity and gender on the Pediatric Performance Validity Test Suite (PdPVTS; McCaffrey, Lynch, Leark, & Reynolds, 2020). A general population sample of n = 838 examinees was collected and demographically matched subsamples were established to compare gender and racial/ethnic groups while controlling for other confounding demographic variables. Classification/failure rates revealed little evidence of adverse impact across gender and racial/ethnic groups. Mean score equivalency between demographic groups was achieved in most cases. Instances where evidence of equivalence could not be established, namely for the Story Questions, were associated with smaller sample sizes and lower statistical power. Taken together, the current study demonstrates that examiners may use the PdPVTS with confidence that pass/fail classifications will not be associated with gender or race/ethnicity for Black, White, and Hispanic examinees.