Utility of the MCMI-3 in detecting response bias by forensic patients

The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-3 (MCMI-3) is commonly employed in forensic evaluations in which examinees are frequently motivated to malinger or minimize psychopathology, but little empirical evidence exists to support its application in the detection of these response styles. This is a pressing issue because the MCMI-3 has been debated in the literature with respect to its admissibility as evidence under Daubert standards. Therefore, this study utilized a differential prevalence design to compare pretrial defendants who stood to gain from a court-imposed assessment with posttrial forensic inpatients who did not stand to benefit from completing the MCMI-3. Support for the construct validity of two of the modifier indices was found, and the results are discussed with respect to the utility of the MCMI-3 in forensic applications.