Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

1-1-2005

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PhD)

Department

Center for Psychological Studies

First Advisor

Alfred Sellers

Second Advisor

John Lewis

Third Advisor

Linda Sobell

Keywords

cross-cultural assessment, MCMI-III, personality inventory, Portuguese translation, substance abuse

Abstract

The Brazilian-Portuguese Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (BP-MCMI-III) is a newly developed translation of the original MCMI-III and requires validation before it can be used in cross-cultural research and clinical settings. This study was the first validation study with the BP-MCMI-III and examined the validity of its Alcohol Dependence and Drug Dependence scales for identifying substance-related disorders in a Brazilian sample. The diagnostic validity of these scales was examined by comparing participants' scores on the BP-MCMI-III against group status (controls versus patients receiving substance abuse treatment) and against clinical diagnoses made based on a DSM-IV-TR symptom checklist. In addition, diagnostic validity statistics were also computed for both scales. The construct validity of the Alcohol Dependence scale was examined by comparing the subjects' scores with their performance on a Brazilian version of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). The total sample used in this study consisted of 126 Brazilians residing in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Of the total sample, 75 were inpatients at treatment facilities for substance abuse and 51 were not receiving treatment for alcohol- or drug-related problems at the time of testing. The results of this study supported the validity of the BP-MCMI-III for diagnosing substance-related disorders among Brazilians.

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