The erroneous diagnosis of malingering in a military setting.

The paper describes difficulties in diagnosing individuals from different cultures, focusing specifically on cases of erroneous diagnosis of malingering among ultraorthodox Jewish inductees. During one year, 24 inductees diagnosed as malingerers by several army psychiatrists were re-examined by the authors and subsequently re-diagnosed as psychotic, suffering from a personality disorder, or mentally retarded. Factors underlying the misdiagnosis are discussed.