THE EFFECT OF DEFENSIVE RESPONDING BY SUBSTANCE-ABUSING PATIENTS ON THE MILLON CLINICAL MULTIAXIAL INVENTORY

This study explored the effect of defensive (i. e., fake-good) respond ing by substance-abusing patients on the scale scores of the Millon Cl inical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II; Millon, 1987). Patients asked to respond honestly (N = 62) had significantly higher scores on most of the scales than patients who were instructed to respond defensively (N = 62) and forensic subjects suspected of abusing psychoactive substan ces (N = 54). Significantly fewer subjects in the defensive responding simulation and the forensic group had elevated the Drug Dependence an d Alcohol Dependence scales compared to the honestly responding patien ts. These results indicate that most drug-abusing individuals can conc eal the presence of a substance-related disorder, as reflected by scal e scores on the MCMI-II, if motivated to do so.