Factor-Analysis of the MCMI-III on an Offender Population

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The various versions of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) are frequently employed in forensic settings to inform decisions regarding the treatment and management of offenders. A paucity of research, however, has investigated the psychometric properties of this instrument with offenders, and no published studies have yet addressed the factorial structure of its most recent edition, the MCMI-III. This study investigated the factorial validity of the MCMI-III in a sample of 159 male, incarcerated offenders. Factor analytic results on the 10 clinical scales revealed two factors, accounting for 70% of the common variance in participants' responses. Factor I (Psychiatric Disturbance) consisted of 8 scales and Factor II (Substance Dependence) was comprised of 3 scales. A 3-factor solution was obtained in the analysis of the 14 personality scales. Factors I (Internalizing; 10 scales), II (Acting Out; 5 scales) and III (Self-Absorption; 3 scales) accounted for a total of 77% of the common variance. The theoretical and clinical implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.