Prevalence of Personality Disorders and Clinical Syndromes Using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III (MCMI-III) in an Iranian Clinical Sample

Abstract

Personality objective inventories are commonly used for diagnosis of personality disorders. Personality assessment is effective in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of psychiatric outpatients and in patients. Comorbid personality disorders and clinical syndromes may be more worth condition of the patients. The present study aimed to examine the diagnosis of personality disorders and clinical syndromes using the Farsi version of Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III (3rd ed.; MCMI-III) in Iranian psychiatric outpatients. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The subjects of the project were 737 psychiatric outpatients. They were referred to the psychiatric and psychological clinics at the School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health-Tehran Institute of Psychiatry affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. The subjects were selected using convenience sampling during years of 2010-2015 and evaluated by the MCMI-III computerized Farsi version. Data were analyzed by descriptive methods and t test using SPSS/WIN 16.0 program. Results showed that the most frequent of personality disorders were Depressive (2B), Compulsive (7), and Histrionic (4); with double code types of Depressive- Dependent (2B3); and Histrionic- Depressive (42B) combinations. The most frequent of moderate clinical syndrome were Anxiety (A), and Dysthymia (D) and the severe syndromes was Thought Disorder (SS); with double codes of clinical syndromes of Anxiety- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (AR). There were significant differences between women and men patients in mean scores of some MCMI-III scales. Women had higher scores in Validity Scales of Disclosure (X) and Debasement (Z) than men. Depressive, Passive-Aggressive (Negativistic) (8A), Self-Defeating (8B) and Borderline (C) personality disorders were the most common in women than men. By contrast, Compulsive (7) personality disorder was the most common in men compare to women. Anxiety, Somatoform (H), Bipolar: Manic (N), Dysthymia (D), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (R), Thought Disorder (SS), and Major Depression Disorder (CC) were the most common in women than men. The prevalence of diagnosis personality patterns and clinical syndromes in Iranian psychiatric outpatients is high and this should be taken into account in their assessment and treatment planning. Using of available sample and lack of random sample; possibility of comorbidity of other mental disorders with main diagnosis are limitations of the study. Utilization of item response theory (IRT); Structural Clinical Interviews for DSM Axis I and Axis II (SCID-I and SCID-II) along with MCMI-III; and MCMI-IV in an Iranian clinical sample are recommended.