Millon™ Adolescent Clinical Inventory
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Millon™ Adolescent Clinical Inventory
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 | Inventory Length |
| Reading Level and Administration |
| Theoretical Anchoring and Coordination to the DSM |
| Scales |
| Test Development |
| Base Rate Scores |
| Computer Scoring and Interpretation |
| Ordering the MACI |
The MACI™ inventory (Millon™ Adolescent Clinical Inventory), like other Millon inventories, is distinguished from other clinical instruments primarily by its brevity, its theoretical anchoring, multiaxial format, tripartite construction and validation schema, use of base rate scores, and interpretive depth. The MACI™ inventory is intended to replace the Millon™ Adolescent Personality Inventory (MAPI™). The MACI™ inventory was developed specifically for use in clinical, residential, and correctional settings; it is useful primarily in the evaluation of troubled adolescents, and may be used for diagnostic assistance, in formulating treatment plans, and as an outcome measure.
At 160 items, the MACI™ inventory is much shorter than comparable instruments.
READING LEVEL AND ADMINISTRATION
The MACI™ test is almost self-administering. Terminology is geared to an sixth-grade reading level. The inventory is almost self-administering. The great majority of patients can complete the inventory in approximately 20 minutes, minimizing resistance among the population for which the test is intended.
THEORETICAL ANCHORING and COORDINATION TO DSM-IV
The MACI™ test is linked directly to a coherent theory of personality and psychopathology, significantly increasing the inventory's interpretive value. Personality scales reflect adolescent variants of the adult personality disorders, refined through the Evolutionary model of Dr. Ted Millon. No other diagnostic instrument currently available is as consonant with the official nosology as the MACI™ test. Moreover, the MACI™ inventory's scales are grouped to reflect the DSM distinction between Axis II and Axis I. Thus, separate scales distinguish the more enduring personality characteristics of patients (Axis II) from the more acute clinical disorders they display (Axis I). Profiles based on all scales may be interpreted to illuminate the interplay between long-standing characterological patterns and the distinctive clinical symptoms currently manifest.
The MACI™ test consists of a total of 31 scales: Twelve Personality Patterns scales (Axis II), eight Expressed Concerns Scales, seven Clinical Syndrome Scales, three Modifying Indices (which assess particular response styles), and a Validity scale. The table below lists the inventory's scales. The twelve personality patterns parallel those of the DSM-III, III-R, and IV. The Expressed Concerns scales focus on feelings and attitudes about issues that tend to concern most troubled adolescents. The Clinical Syndromes scales assess disorders frequently seen in adolescent populations
MACI™ PERSONALITY SCALE (DSM EQUIVALENT)
EXPRESSED CONCERNS
CLINICAL SYNDROMES
MODIFYING INDICES
The construction of the MACI™ test parallels that of other Millon inventories. Item selection and scale development progressed through a sequence of three validation steps: (1) theoretical-substantive; (2) internal-structural; and (3) external-criterion.
In the theoretical-substantive stage, items for each syndrome were generated to conform both to theoretical requirements and to the substance of DSM criteria. In the internal-structural stage, these "rational" items were subjected to internal consistency analyses. Items having higher correlations with scales for which they were not intended were either dropped entirely or re-examined against theoretical criteria and reassigned or reweighted. Only items surviving each successive validation stage were included in subsequent analyses. In the external-criterion phase, items were examined in terms of their ability to discriminate between clinical groups, rather than between clinical groups and normal subjects.
This tripartite model of test construction attempts to synthesize the strengths of each construction phase by rejecting items that are found to be deficient in particular respects, thus ensuring that the final scales do not consist of items which optimize one particular parameter of test construction, but instead conjointly satisfy multiple requirements, increasing the generalizability of the end product.
An important feature which distinguishes the MACI™ test from other inventories is its use of actuarial base rate data, rather than normalized standard score transformations. T-scores implicitly assume the prevalence rates of all disorders to be equal, that is, there are equal numbers of depressives and schizophrenics, for example. In contrast, the MACI™ inventory seeks to diagnose the percentages of adolescents that are actually found to be disordered across diagnostic settings. These data not only provide a basis for selecting optimal differential diagnostic cutting lines, but also ensure that the frequency of diagnoses and profile patterns will be comparable to representative clinical prevalence rates.
COMPUTER SCORING AND INTERPRETATION
Computer programs are available for rapid and convenient machine scoring in all major computing environments.
Interpretive reports are available at two levels of detail. The PROFILE REPORT presents the adolescent's scores and profile, and is useful as a screening device to identify patients that may require more intensive evaluation or professional attention.The NARRATIVE REPORT integrates both personological and symptomatic features of the patient, and are arranged in a style similar to those prepared by clinical psychologists. Results are based on actuarial research, Millon's theoretical schema, and relevant DSM diagnoses within a multiaxial framework. Therapeutic implications are included.
The MACI™ and MCMI-III™ inventories are available through NCS Assessments at 1-800-627-7271 (voice) or 1-800-632-9001 (fax).
