Litigation and reported rates of posttraumatic stress disorder

DSM-IV-TR cautions that malingering should be ruled out when financial remuneration, benefit eligibility, and forensic determinations play a role. Recent studies demonstrate a need for peer review journals to adopt an editorial policy that parallels the DSM-IV cautionary statement. Specifically, journals should require disclosure of situational sources of bias, and steps taken, if any, to assess such bias. Until such time that clear disclosure of subjectsʹ compensation status becomes routine, the validity of estimated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates published in scientific journals will remain in doubt.