Development and reliability of a Brazilian Portuguese version of the MCMI-III

This paper describes the methodology used to translate the MCMI-III into Brazilian Portuguese and presents results from a reliability study conducted in Brazil with the translated instrument. The sample was comprised of 222 Brazilian college students. Test-retest correlations between first and second testings (over a period of 7 to 14 days) ranged from .70 to .93 across 27 scales. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .54 to .87. The procedures described in this paper represent preliminary steps in the development of a Brazilian Portuguese translation of the MCMI-III. Further studies are needed to obtain reliability data with a clinical sample, evaluate the diagnostic validity of the scales, and derive appropriate base rates for the Brazilian population.     

Mexican-American male batterers on the MCMI-III

This study examined personality characteristics of Mexican-American male batterers. 60 Mexican-American male batterers (M = 33.6 yr.) in the court system in South Texas took the MCMI-III and their MCMI-III scores were compared with the scores of a community sample of 45 Mexican-American individuals (M = 30.4 yr.). The batterers frequently scored higher than the nonbatterers on the Avoidant and Passive-Aggressive scales, while nonbatterers frequently scored higher on the Histrionic scale. The batterers scored significantly higher on 18 out of 24 MCMI-III scales, while nonbatterers scored significantly higher on two scales.     

Diagnostic validity statistics and the MCMI-III

This article (a) describes and illustrates the nonredundant and clinically important information that may be obtained from 5 diagnostic validity statistics (DVSs): incremental validities of positive and negative test diagnoses, Cohen's kappas, Cohen's effect sizes, and areas under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and (b) determines values of these DVSs for 24 Million Multiaxial Clinical Inventory III scales from results reported in 1994 and 1997 validity studies. The DVSs for the 1997 study (T. Millon, R. Davis, & C. Millon, 1997) were often more than 3 times larger than corresponding DVSs for the 1994 study (T. Millon, 1994). The author suggests these large differences could reflect not only effects of factors that caused underestimation of validities by DVSs of the 1994 study, but also effects of factors that may have caused overestimation of validities by DVSs of the 1997 study.     

Factor structure of the Chinese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale

Depression is common in patients following stroke and has been found to be related to the degree of functional disability, recovery and engagement in rehabilitation. Consequently, screening for depression is crucial in this group in order to facilitate the delivery of appropriate psychological support. The current study sought to determine key psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in this group. Three versions of the GDS were evaluated, these being the 30-item original measure (GDS-30), the short-form version comprising 15 items (GDS-SF) and a recently developed innovative four-item version (GDS-4). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the GDS-30 and GDS-SF to offer an acceptable fit to data suggesting utility of these measures for screening. However, the GDS-4 offered a poor fit to the data, suggesting this measure was an inadequate measure of depression in this clinical group. Further, though GDS-30 and GDS-SF measures revealed good internal consistency, the performance of the GDS-4 was marginal. However, all GDS-derived measures demonstrated excellent convergent and divergent validity. It is concluded that the GDS-30 is a useful and appropriate screening instrument in this group. Further, the GDS-SF shows promise in terms of development as a multidimensional measure of depression that may have predictive and outcome monitoring potential. The psychometric shortcomings of the GDS-4 strongly suggest that this measure is unsuitable for screening in this clinical group.     

Assessing Old Order Amish outpatients with the MCMI-III

In this study, we examined Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III; Millon, 2009) characteristics in an Old Order Amish outpatient sample (n = 166), with a comparison group of Old Order Amish who were not receiving mental health treatment at the time of testing (n = 80). We also graphically compared the 2 Amish groups to a non-Amish psychiatric sample in the literature. Consistent with our hypotheses, the Old Order Amish outpatients scored significantly higher than the Old Order Amish comparison group on the majority of MCMI-III scales, with mostly medium effect sizes, suggesting that the MCMI-III is a useful personality instrument in discriminating between Old Order Amish clinical and nonclinical groups. In addition, the Amish outpatients scored similar to a non-Amish psychiatric sample in the literature on most personality scales. Future MCMI-III studies with the Amish are needed to replicate and generalize our findings.     

Empirical evaluation of the MCMI-III personality disorder scales

The MCMI-III personality disorder scales were empirically validated with a sample of 870 clinical patients and inmates. Prevalence rates of personality disorders were in general lower on the MCMI-III than clinical ratings, but trait prevalence was generally higher; thus a base rate of 75 on the MCMI-III could be a guideline in the screening of trait prevalence. However, the sensitivity of some MCMI-III scales was very low. Moreover, the correlations of most personality disorder scales of the MCMI-III were significant and positive with corresponding measures on clinical ratings and MMPI-2 personality disorder scales, but these were, in general, not significantly higher than some other correlations. As a consequence the discriminant validity seems to be questionable. The MCMI-III alone cannot be used as a diagnostic inventory, but the test could be useful as a screening device as a part of a multimethod approach that allows aggregation over measures in making diagnostic decisions.     

Circular structure of the MCMI-III personality disorder scales.

Millon's (1987) circular model of personality disorders was examined in a large sample of psychiatric patients (N = 2,366) who completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III; Millon, 1997) as part of routine assessment after presentation for treatment. Principal components analyses were conducted to identify the first two dimensions in MCMI-III base rate scores, weighted and unweighted raw scores, and nonoverlapping scale scores. Similar analyses were made on these scores when acquiescence was partialled out. Circular plots of the scales were examined against Millon's hypothesized arrangement and the model was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Results replicated those of Strack, Lorr, and Campbell (1990) with the MCMI-II. Millon's horizontal Impassive-Expressive dimension was recovered in both regular and residual scores but the vertical axis appeared to represent an Impulsivity-Compulsivity dimension rather than the Autonomous-Enmeshed continuum envisioned by Millon. Although scale order followed Millon's predictions for the most part, a number of departures from theoretical expectations were noted and none of the score sets yielded a good fit to the hypothetical structure. Millon's model appears to have promise as a circumplex that can encompass all of the personality disorders but changes are needed to rectify discrepancies between the theory and empirical findings.     

Factor structure and psychometric features of the Italian version for the EPQ-R

Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire—Revised were investigated in an Italian sample of 553 subjects (328 females and 225 males). The main psychometric features of the questionnaire are similar to those reported for the original English form. Factor analysis, however, showed six (out of 32) items of the P scale, referring chiefly to compliance to formal rules of conduct, to have their highest loadings on the Lie factor. The consistency of this finding with previous results suggests that, in the Italian context, these items tend to be more closely connected with the social conformity aspect of the Lie scale than with the psychopathy facet of Psychoticism and should be excluded from the scoring of the P dimension.     

Linking personality disorders and clinical syndromes on the MCMI-III

We examined the relationship between personality disorders (PDs) and clinical syndromes (CSs) as measured by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III; Millon, 1997) in a large, heterogeneous sample of psychiatric patients (N = 2,366) who completed the instrument as part of routine assessment following presentation for treatment. Using separate sets of base rate (BR) and nonoverlapping scale scores, we factor analyzed the PD and CS scales together and then separately. We correlated results from the latter analyses to determine how trait dimensions were associated with syndrome dimensions. We also studied co-occurrence at the scale level by examining CS score profiles of patients who were grouped according to their highest PD scale elevation > or = BR75. Results for the two score sets were very similar and were consistent with previous research on the MCMI-III and its predecessors that identified 3 underlying dimensions loading both PD and CS scales. Three fourths (76.2%) of the sample had a highest PD scale > or = BR75, and among these, 90% had at least 1 CS scale > or = BR75, whereas 62.4% had 3 or more CS scales above this elevation. Findings underscore the substantial overlap between PDs and CSs along 3 dimensions that resemble Horney's (1945) tripartite interpersonal distinction of moving toward, away, and against, as well as Eysenck's (1994) higher order factors of neuroticism, extraversion, and psychoticism.     

Factor structure of the Spanish version of the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire

The reliability and factor structure of the Spanish version of the Object-Spatial Imagery and Verbal Questionnaire (OSIVQ) were assessed in a sample of 213 Spanish university graduates. The questionnaire measures three types of processing preferences (verbal, object imagery, and spatial imagery). Principal components analysis with varimax rotation identified three factors, corresponding to the three scales proposed in the original version, explaining 33.1% of the overall variance. Cronbach's alphas were .72, .77, and .81 for the verbal, object imagery, and spatial imagery scales, respectively.     

Assessment of substance abusers on the MCMI-III and the Rorschach

We examined 60 substance abusers (SA) on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III; Millon, 1994) and on eight Rorschach variables from the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003). On the MCMI-III, SA scored above the cutoff for clinical significance (M > or = BR 70) on Drug Dependence (94.77), Antisocial (82.95), Depressive (74.33), Self-Defeating (71.48), and Alcohol Dependence (70.70). On seven of the CS variables (M+,o,u, XA%, X-%, WSum6Lv2%, M-%, SumT%, and Pure H%) the scores of the SAs suggested significant more psychopathology compared to the scores of 60 university students, whereas the SA's scores on six of these variables (M+,o,u, XA%, X-%, WSum6Lv2%, SumT%, and Pure H%) suggested significantly less psychopathology compared to the scores of 36 schizophrenics. The effect sizes for the significant differences were in the small, medium and large range (d= 0.31 to d= 1.87).     

Factor structure of the Korean version of Wong and Law's Emotional Intelligence Scale

This study reports the factor structure of a Korean version of the 16-item Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) for a sample of 161 Korean university students. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four-factor model of the WLEIS: (1) self-emotional appraisal, (2) others' emotional appraisal, (3) use of emotion, and (4) regulation of emotion. However, improvement of the model fit after removing three items suggests the need for future research on the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the WLEIS.     

MMPI-2 and MCMI-III characteristics of parental competency examinees

The MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 2001) and the MCMI-III (Millon, Davis, & Millon, 1997) may contribute to understanding psychological functioning in parental competency examinees. In this study, we sought to identify MMPI-2 and MCMI-III characteristics of this population. We collected data regarding 127 individuals who underwent court-ordered parental competency evaluations. Although test results were generally consistent with findings from the child custody literature, MMPI-2 results indicated the highest Validity scale elevation on the L scale in contrast to the K scale elevations that have often been reported in the custody literature.     

Factor structure and internal consistency of the Spanish version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. After translating the instrument from English into Spanish using the forward-backward translation method, it was administered to a sample of 129 mothers of children aged between 10 and 39 months olds. The exploratory factor analysis identified two factors: Childrearing Stress and Personal Distress, which accounted for 48.77% of the variance. The internal consistency of these factors was high (Childrearing Stress: .90 and Personal Distress: .87). Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Factor structure of the Spanish version of the Spence Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS)

This paper presents the Spanish version of the Spence Children Anxiety Scale (SCAS), a rating scale for children and adolescents assessing anxiety disorders as they appear in the DSM-IV. SCAS scores were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses in a sample of 1671 children 10 to 17 years old. Results supported the proposed structure of six interrelated scales. This structure is completely invariant (except for means) in boys and girls and across age groups. Overall, girls scored slightly higher than boys. The relationship of SCAS scores with the child's age was nonexistent or very low and negative. The least frequent anxiety problems among children and adolescents were panic attacks and agoraphobia. Problems that most frequently presented extreme high scores were obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia. It is concluded that the Spanish version of the SCAS can confidently be used in the assessment of anxiety disorders in children.     

Factor validation of the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale: evidence for a short version

The author examined the factor structure of the 12-item Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) Scale (A. Strathman, F. Gleicher, D. S. Boninger, & S. Edwards, 1994) among 664 undergraduate university students enrolled in human development courses. A principal-components factor analysis with varimax rotation yielded 2 factors. The author used confirmatory factor analysis procedures to examine the fit of 4 models, according to the principal-components factor analysis findings, with the observed covariance. The author used a number of fit indices to compare the 4 models. Both sets of analysis provided the greatest support for an 8-item short version of the CFC Scale. The author discussed findings in regard to the CFC Scale as an instrument to measure future time perspective.     

Factor structure of a Spanish version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale in Uruguay

The Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) was translated into Spanish and administered to 1,423 pupils in Grades 1 thru 12 in Uruguay. An orthogonal varimax rotation was performed, which revealed three factors of anxiety. These factors are quite similar to those found through factor analyses in the RCMAS for American children. A discussion of the factor structure and possible use of this instrument in Latin American countries is presented.     

Factor structure of the Norwegian version of the WAIS-III in a clinical sample: the arithmetic problem

Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III) lend partial support to the four-factor model proposed in the test manual. However, the Arithmetic subtest has been especially difficult to allocate to one factor. Using the new Norwegian WAIS-III version, we tested factor models differing in the number of factors and in the placement of the Arithmetic subtest in a mixed clinical sample (n = 272). Only the four-factor solutions had adequate goodness-of-fit values. Allowing Arithmetic to load on both the Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory factors provided a more parsimonious solution compared to considering the subtest only as a measure of Working Memory. Effects of education were particularly high for both the Verbal Comprehension tests and Arithmetic.     

Convergent validity of the MCMI-III personality disorder scales and the MMPI-2 scales

The MCMI-III personality disorder scales (Millon, 1994) were empirically validated in a sample of prisoners, psychiatric inpatients, and outpatients (N = 477). The scale intercorrelations were congruent with those obtained by Millon, Davis, and Millon (1997). We conclude that our Flemish/Dutch version shows no significant differences with the original version of the MCMI-III as far as intercorrelations are concerned. Convergent validity of the MCMI-III personality disorder scales was evaluated by the correlational data between the MCMI-III personality disorder scales and the MMPI-2 clinical (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) and personality disorder (Somwaru & Ben-Porath, 1995) scales. Improved convergence was obtained compared with previous versions of the MCMI-I. Only the compulsive MCMI-III personality disorder scale remains problematic. The scale even showed negative correlations with some of the related clinical scales and with the corresponding personality disorder scales of the MMPI-2.