SENSITIVITY OF MCMI-III SCALE-T (DRUGS) AND SCALE-B (ALCOHOL) IN DETECTING SUBSTANCE-ABUSE

The sensitivity and specificity of MCMI-III Scales T (drug dependence) and B (alcohol dependence) were evaluated with patients (N = 164) in an inpatient substance user treatment program. The sensitivity levels of these two scales improved significantly compared to previous resear ch using the MCMI I and MCMI II Scales T and B, which had not achieved sensitivity values above. 50. However, specificity for detecting alco holism among drug misusers was lower compared to MCMI I and II studies , Results suggest improved diagnostic sensitivity with the MCMI-III in diagnosing substance misuse, but lowered efficiency in ruling out the disorder.