Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Psicothema, 2009. Vol. Vol. 21 (nº 4). 610-614
Máximo Winberg Nodal y Ramón J. Vilalta Suárez*
Instituto Medicina Legal de Asturias y * Juzgado de Vigilancia Penitenciaria de Asturias
En este estudio se analiza mediante el Inventario MCMI-II de Millon la presencia de trastornos de personalidad en una población forense. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 86 sujetos del ámbito civil y penal: demandantes en asuntos de familia y denunciantes y denunciados en diferentes delitos, principalmente violencia de género. Los resultados muestran un elevado número de protocolos indicadores del Trastorno de Personalidad Compulsivo, que llega al 70% de los sujetos, independientemente de que sean del área civil o penal, o de su condición de denunciante o denunciado. Se concluye que este inventario parece carecer de validez estadística para este uso, que la prueba podría describir únicamente las características propias de la evaluación forense, más que la personalidad de los sujetos evaluados, y que, por tanto, es excesivamente sensible al contexto; siendo posible que las conclusiones derivadas de los resultados del MCMI-II en el ámbito forense estén considerando válidos a perfiles distorsionados o inespecíficos.
Assessment of personality disorders with the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II) in a forensic sample. In this paper, the presence of personality disorders in a forensic sample is analysed using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-II). The sample was made up of 86 individuals from both civil and criminal settings: plaintiffs in family cases and complainants and defendants in various crimes, especially in partner abuse. The results reveal a great number of records of Compulsive Personality Disorder, reaching 70%, regardless of whether they were from the civil or the criminal setting or whether they were a plaintiff or a defendant. It is concluded that this inventory seems to lack statistical validity for this purpose. Moreover, this test may only describe the typical characteristics of forensic evaluation rather than the personality of the individuals assessed, and it is oversensitive to context; hence, the conclusions derived from the use of the MCMI-II in the forensic field may accept as valid a great deal of distorted or unspecific profiles.
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