title: Discriminative validity of the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale with Cluster B personality disorders.
abstract: This study was designed to assess the ability of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC-R) to differentiate between outpatients with personality disorders with Substance-Related Disorders (SRDs) and without SRDs. MMPI-2 validity, clinical, and MAC-R scale scores were compared in an SRD Cluster B group (comprised of Narcissistic, Antisocial, Borderline, and Histrionic; n = 15), a non-SRD Cluster B group (n = 33), and a non-SRD group with personality disorders from Clusters A and C (n = 18). Results revealed that the substance-abusing Cluster B group scored significantly higher on the MAC-R ( p <.0001) as well as the Psychopathic Deviate scale ( p <.01). Dimensional analyses illustrated that MAC-R scores were related to the presence of an SRD diagnosis (rpb =.70, p <.0001) and diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder (r =.60, p <.0001). Stepwise regression revealed that (in order of magnitude) the presence of a substance-abuse diagnosis followed by diagnostic criteria for Antisocial and Histrionic Personality Disorders were most related to MAC-R scores (R =.78, R(2) =.60). This indicates that the MAC-R may be more related to the presence of an SRD than has been suggested, and when used in outpatient settings as MacAndrew (1965) intended, the MAC-R may be useful as a screening device for assessing SRD among outpatients with Axis II psychopathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ssmith13@partners.org
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hilsenroth
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014481:United States