Abstract
Despite the proven psychometric quality of the MACI in Chile, 6 of its clinical scales differentiate in a reversed fashion between adolescents who seek or receive psychological help and those who do not; in addition, these scales appear inversely associated with psychological disorders. Contrary to the theoretical foundations of the MACI, this pattern of results suggests that these scales might not be assessing psychological maladjustment in Chile but rather the absence of it, which points to the possibility of construct bias in these counter-theoretical (CT) scales. To examine this issue, a purposive sample of 49 Chilean clinical psychologists were asked to assess, using a 5-point scale, the extent to which the definition of the construct measured by each CT scale and the content of their items reflected psychological maladjustment in Chilean adolescents. One-sample t-tests suggest that the definitions of the Submissive and Egoistic scales and nearly all the items of the CT scales show construct bias. These results are discussed in terms of cultural differences regarding the notion of adolescent maladjustment, the original item selection criteria, and the implications of CT scales for professional practice.
Highlights
Despite the proven psychometric quality of the MACI in Chile, 6 of its clinical scales differentiate in a reversed fashion between adolescents who seek or receive psychological help and those who do not; in addition, these scales appear inversely associated with psychological disorders
Contrary to the theoretical foundations of the MACI, this pattern of results suggests that these scales might not be assessing psychological maladjustment in Chile but rather the absence of it, which points to the possibility of construct bias in these counter-theoretical (CT) scales
A purposive sample of 49 Chilean clinical psychologists were asked to assess, using a 5-point scale, the extent to which the definition of the construct measured by each CT scale and the content of their items reflected psychological maladjustment in Chilean adolescents
Summary
Uno de los instrumentos más exhaustivos para la evaluación de la personalidad adolescente desde una perspectiva psicopatológica, fue creado originalmente en Estados Unidos y, luego, traducido, adaptado y estandarizado para la población adolescente chilena (Vinet & Alarcón, 2003; Vinet & Forns i Santacana, 2008). Consta de 160 ítems con opciones de respuesta verdadero o falso que aportan puntaje a una o varias de sus 27 escalas clínicas y cuatro escalas de control. Las escalas de control abordan estilos de respuesta que pueden distorsionar las puntuaciones en las otras escalas (Millon, 1993; Vinet & Forns i Santacana, 2008). Para la selección de los ítems y el desarrollo de las escalas del MACI se empleó un criterio racional (relación lógica del contenido del ítem con la definición conceptual del constructo) y/o un criterio empírico (asociaciones estadísticas de los ítems, tanto en la estructura interna de las escalas como con variables externas) (Millon, 1993). Mientras los ítems prototípicos fueron asignados a solo una escala, empleando un criterio racional, los ítems no prototípicos fueron asignados a una o más escalas, a partir de un criterio tanto racional como empírico
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