
The Millon® Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI®-III) (2009) with new norms and updated scoring
by Theodore Millon, Ph.D., D.Sc., Roger Davis, Ph.D., Carrie Millon, Ph.D., & Seth Grossman, Psy.D.
This Third Edition development of the MCMI-III adds the Grossman Facet Scales, a series of therapy-guiding facet subscales, to the basic personality scales of the instrument. These fact scales identify the most salient clinical domains (e.g., interpersonal, cognitive) that characterize the patient taking the inventory. This information helps “personalize” and further “individualize” the MCMI test results by specifying those features that call for the therapist’ attention in what is called “personalized therapy”. But first, a few words about the basic MCMI-III and what distinguishes it as a clinical instrument.
The MCMI (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory) is distinguished from other inventories primarily by its brevity, its theoretical anchoring, multiaxial format, tripartite construction and validation schema, use of base rate scores, and interpretive depth. Each generation of the MCMI inventory has attempted to keep the total number of items small enough to encourage its use in all types of diagnostic and treatment settings, yet large enough to permit the assessment of a wide range of clinically relevant multiaxial behaviors. At 175 items, the MCMI inventory is much shorter than comparable instruments. Terminology is geared to an eighth-grade reading level. The inventory is almost self-administering. The great majority of patients can complete the MCMI-III in 20 to 30 minutes, facilitating relatively simple and rapid administrations while minimizing patient resistance and fatigue.
Theoretical Anchoring
Coordination to DSM-5
Test Development
Base Rate Scores
Computer Scoring and Interpretation
Clinical Uses
The primary intent of the MCMI inventory is to provide information to clinicians, that is, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, social workers, physicians, and nurses, who must make assessments and treatment decisions about persons with emotional and interpersonal difficulties.
Because of its simplicity of administration and the availability of rapid computer scoring and interpretation, the MCMI inventory can be used on a routine basis in outpatient clinics, community agencies, mental health centers, college counseling programs, general and mental hospitals, as well as independent and group practice offices, and in the courts.
Research
Scales
The MCMI, Third Edition consists of a total of twenty-four scales: Fourteen Clinical Personality Patterns scales: Schizoid, Avoidant, Depressive (Melancholic), Dependent, Histrionic, Narcissistic, Antisocial, Sadistic, Compulsive, Negativistic, and Masochistic; three Severe Personality Pathology scales: Schizotypal, Borderline, and Paranoid; seven Clinical Syndrome Scales: Anxiety, Somatoform, Bipolar (Manic), Dysthymia, Alcohol Dependence, Drug Dependence, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; three Severe Clinical Syndrome scales: Thought Disorder, Major Depression, and Delusional Disorder; three Modifying Indices and a Validity scale. The personality scales parallel the personality disorders of the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV, as refined by theory. They are grouped into two levels of severity, the Clinical Personality Patterns scales and Severe Personality Scales. The Axis I scales represent clinical conditions frequently seen in clinical settings. They are also grouped into two levels of severity, the Clinical Syndromes scales and the Severe Syndrome Scales. The three Modifying Indices – Disclosure, Desirability, and Debasement – assess response tendencies which are connected with particular personality patterns or Axis I conditions.
The MCMI-III, Third Edition is a recent development in that it adds value to the basic inventory. Present for the first time are a series of facet subscales for refining and maximizing the utility of each of the major personality scales. Known as the Grossman Facet Scales, they provide information specifying the patient’s scores on several of the personologic/clinical domains described in previous sections of this Website, such as problematic interpersonal conduct, cognitive styles, expressive behaviors, and the like. They thereby contribute useful diagnostic information that should help clinicians better understand the particular realms of functioning on which the patient’s difficulties manifest themselves. They should also provide the clinical practitioner with guidance for selecting specific therapeutic modalities that are likely to maximize the achievement of positive treatment goals.
Scale descriptions and detailed data on test development and validation may be obtained by reading the latest (2006) MCMI-III, Third Edition test manual.
Ordering the MCMI-III
The MCMI-III is available through Pearson Clinical.
(see a sample narrative report)