MACI Scores of African American Males in a Forensic Setting: Are We Measuring What We Think We Are Measuring?

Abstract

In this study, confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine scores on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) in adolescent, African American males in a forensic setting (N = 496; M_age = 15.96, SD_age = 1.32). Results from the study do not support the model proposed by Millon and suggest the MACI may not yield valid or reliable scores in forensic populations of adolescent, African American males. Because MACI scores could be misleading in African American males, the authors argue that the MACI and other trait-scales not validated in this group be used with extreme caution—especially in settings where African Americans are disproportionately represented.

KEYWORDS:

• African American males
• Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI)
• forensic psychology
• validity
• personality
• measurement invariance