Abstract
The Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991) is a relatively new personality assessment showing much promise in forensic and correctional settings. The present review examines correlations and effect sizes from a list of studies (n = 17) utilizing the PAI in these areas in order to provide concurrent validity with other psychological measures in the categories of (1) mental and personality disorders, (2) psychopathy, (3) violence potential, (4) suicide potential, and (5) feigning, malingering, or defensiveness.
The study indicated that the PAI does evidence moderate correlations in forensic and correctional settings, as well as demonstrate significant concurrent validity with a number of measures currently used in these areas. The PAI appears to have promise as a measure of personality functioning in the forensic and correctional domains.
Introduction
Early research on personality and criminal behavior used a variety of methods, and particularly the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Hathaway & McKinley, 1940) was being used in a number of settings by the 1960s, including corrections. In 1989, the MMPI-2 (Hathaway & McKinley, 1989) was published to make amends for the conceptual and psychometric problems facing the original MMPI (as the fields of psychopathology and personality theory advanced).
Since then, numerous studies have shown a significant difference between offender personalities and various comparison groups, with the overwhelming majority of studies utilizing the MMPI or one of its versions (Quinsey, Arnold and Pruesse, 1980; Goeke, Tosi, & Eshbaugh, 1993; Megargee, Mercer, & Carbonell, 1999; Osberg & Harrigan, 1999). More recently, however, there has been increased use of other instruments, including the Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991).
Forensic and correctional settings now use personality tests for a variety of reasons. There are three broad forensic areas that utilize assessments: (1) competence; (2) criminal responsibility, and (3) risk assessment. Within each area, more narrowly focused questions.....
