Assessing Contemporary Substance Abusers with the MMPI Mac Andrews Alcoholism Scale: A Review

Abstract

We reviewed 71 United States-based MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MAC), as revised (MAC-R) studies totaling almost 32,000 Ss, with adolescent and adult substance abusers, from studies published since the last MAC reviews (1989) through 2001. Results suggest that the MAC, and to some extent, the MAC-R, significantly correlates with measures of alcohol and substance abuse in both male and female adolescents and adults, across a diverse spectrum of the use-abuse continuum. Nonclinical groups (100%) scored below the clinical ranges on the MAC/MAC-R, while 79% of adolescent substance abusing groups scored > R 23, indicative of problems with substance abuse. Persons who abused alcohol, drugs, and polydrugs had mean MAC/MAC-R scores > 23, which ranged from 77% to 100% of the cases. The MAC/MAC-R does well in discriminating persons who abuse substances compared to nonclinical, nonabusing groups, but appears to lose diagnostic efficiency with psychiatric patients, and especially with medical patients with seizure disorders. Using R > 25 seems to improve diagnostic accuracy with this population. Meaning of false positives and false negatives were explored and discussed.

Evaluating Readiness and Treatment Seeking Effects in a Pharmacotherapy Trial for Alcohol Dependence

“…These include novelty seeking (which includes measures of impulsivity), harm avoidance, reward dependence, persistence, self‐directedness, cooperativeness, and self‐transcendence. A recent review of the MAS supports the fact that it correlates significantly with measures of alcohol and substance abuse in both male and female adolescents and adults across a diverse spectrum of the use–abuse continuum (Craig, 2005). This scale was used to assess the second‐order personality traits of gregariousness (i.e., reward seeking) and conformity (i.e., punishment avoidance).…”

A Validation Study of the Alcohol Dependence Scale

“…Measures unique to Project MATCH included the following four items: (1) the Ethanol Dependence Syndrome scale (Babor, 1996), which assesses fi ve major components of the alcohol dependence syndrome (salience of drinking, impaired control over drinking, tolerance, withdrawal, and withdrawal relief); (2) the MacAndrew Alcoholism Scale (MacAndrew, 1965), which was designed to be a nonobvious measure derived from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory to detect and differentiate alcohol-dependent individuals from psychiatric patients and has been found to correlate with indices of alcohol and substance abuse across a wide variety of populations (Craig, 2005); (3) the Alcoholics Anonymous Involvement scale (Tonigan et al, 1996), a measure of attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and involvement in 12-step activities, with strong reliability (Cronbach α's > .80) and test-retest correlations >.90 (Tonigan et al, 1996); and (4) the AUI Horn et al, 1987), which provides a multidimensional assessment of an individual's perceived benefi ts, styles, consequences, and concerns about drinking. Because the ADS was derived from the AUI, only those scales of the AUI that do not contribute items to the ADS were analyzed in order to eliminate concerns about overlapping items that would artifi cially infl ate correlations.…”

Understanding the Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Men’s Risk Behavior: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study

“…This strategy can be particularly useful for providers working with stigmatized populations, including black and Latino MSM/W who may be motivated by normative heterocentric pressures from within their respective communities to conceal abusive same-sex experiences. Indirect questioning has been used to elicit more accurate responses in screening for substance abuse [ 104 ], HIV risk [ 105 ], and intimate partner violence [ 106 ].…”