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Sex and gender bias in self-report personality disorder inventories: item analysis of the MCMI-II, MMPI, and PDQ-R.

Author
Abstract
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There has been considerable controversy and research regarding sex bias in the diagnosis of personality disorders, but little has involved self-report inventories. Thus this study investigated items from the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (Millon, 1987), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Morey, Waugh, & Blashfield, 1985), and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (Hyler & Rieder, 1987). Subjects (N = 189) completed the Histrionic, Dependent, Antisocial, and Narcissistic scales from these inventories, along with the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (Derogatis, 1977). Items were considered to evidence sex or gender bias if they (a) failed to correlate with dysfunction and (b) exhibited sex or gender role differences. At least 13 items evidenced sex bias (76 items using a more liberal threshold). The majority were from Narcissistic scales; few Histrionic items evidenced sex or gender bias. Implications with respect to sex-bias assessment and item construction are discussed.

Year of Publication
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1995
Journal
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Journal of personality assessment
Volume
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65
Issue
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1
Number of Pages
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1-20
ISSN Number
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0022-3891
DOI
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10.1207/s15327752jpa6501_1
Short Title
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J Pers Assess
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