Relationship between the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II and Coolidge Axis II Inventory in chronically mentally ill older adults: a pilot study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between two self-report measures of personality disorders in older chronically mentally ill inpatients. A random sample of 30 chronically mentally ill (DSM-III-R schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, recurrent major depression) inpatients aged 55 and older completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II) and the Coolidge Axis II Inventory (CATI). The personality inventories were concurrently administered in counterbalanced fashion to assess concurrent validity of the CATI and MCMI in this older adult group. Data were submitted for correlational analysis. Median concurrent validity (raw score sums) between the CATI and MCMI-II for the 13 personality disorder scales was moderate (r = .55). Individual scale correlations ranged from -.13 for schizoid disorder to .88 for borderline disorder. Individual scale correlations were somewhat lower than previously reported values, but were above .54 for 7 of 13 disorders. Findings provide preliminary support for use of the CATI and MCMI with chronically mentally ill elders. Suggestions for future research are offered.