NCJ Number
195517
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2002 Pages: 319-332
Date Published
June 2002
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article describes the use of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) in the assessment of personality disorders and in the treatment of offenders, and studies the effectiveness of the MCMI-III through the administering of a test to thousands of inmates under the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Abstract
Of particular interest in correctional facilities or settings is the assessment of personality disorders. To this extent the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) was designed to assess personality disorders. Through the use of the MCMI-III, strategies can be formulated for managing and containing characterologically disturbed offenders. The MCMI-III contains clinical syndrome scales that are composites of broader categories and suggest other areas of treatments. In examining the effectiveness of the MCMI-III, useful data is provided in the mass screening of inmates. Concurrent and predictive validity of the MCMI-III is provided in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, and violence. An industrial clinical approach is presented that allows for screening of many Axis I and Axis II variables. The participants in the study consisted of 10,637 consecutive admissions to the Colorado Department of Corrections with the majority of the participants being male. All the participants were evaluated upon entry into a centralized diagnostic and classification center in Denver, Colorado, and completed several intake tests including the MCMI-III. The MCMI-III appeared to perform well in corrections settings and did a good job of modeling the expert judgments of the intake workers. In addition, the MCMI-III’s ability to predict future institutional behavior was the most useful to the clinician. In summation, the data indicated that the MCMI-III could predict concurrent and future inmate variables across mental health, substance abuse, and violence. It is best at predicting mental health types of variables and limited in the prediction of focal behaviors such as substance abuse and violence. A recommendation was made for clinicians in corrections environments to use the MCMI-III and the data provided to aid in their duties. References and tables