Diagnosis of personality disorders by the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

The diagnostic efficiency of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) was examined with regard to the diagnosis of DSM-III axis II personality disorders by practicing psychiatrists. The MCMI displayed fairly good sensitivity but poor specificity and predictive power regarding the diagnosis of any personality disorder. Two possible explanations were offered: a) axis I psychopathology inflates scores on the MCMI personality disorder scales and causes an overdiagnosis of personality disorders by the test; or b) there is an under-recognition of axis II personality disorders (especially in the context of obvious axis I psychopathology) by the average practicing clinician.