Db. Marlowe et al., STRUCTURED INTERVIEW VERSUS SELF-REPORT TEST VANTAGES FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PERSONALITY PATHOLOGY IN COCAINE DEPENDENCE, Journal of personality disorders, 11(2), 1997, pp. 177-190
The study compared structured interview (SCID-II) and self-report test
(MCMI-II) vantages for the detection and characterization of personal
ity pathology among 144 urban, poor, cocaine-addicted individuals seek
ing outpatient treatment. Diagnostic agreement was inadequate for most
disorders, and the instruments at best shared only modest common vari
ance. Positive predictive power was poor for all MCMI-II scales, thoug
h negative predictive power was good to excellent. This lends support
for the use of the MCMI-II as a screening measure to rule out Axis II
disorders; however, confirmation of positive diagnoses will require fo
llow-up interview assessment. Future development of self-report person
ality inventories for substance abusers should focus on controlling fo
r the acute dysphoric effects of drug use and related dysfunction, exp
anding attention to Cluster B content domains, and incorporating more
objective criteria for assessing paranoia and ''odd/eccentric'' traits
.