THE UTILITY OF THE PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT INVENTORY

Author

Dana M. DeLong, Southern Illinois University CarbondaleFollow

Date of Award

1-1-2008

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Chwalisz, Kathleen

Abstract

Identification of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) in adults using the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) T-scores was investigated. Archival data from closed client files at a university counseling center were used to obtain information from 91 cases of individuals who received testing services and were diagnosed with AD/HD and 91 cases that received personal counseling and received a DSM-IV diagnosis but not a diagnosis of AD/HD. All cases had taken the PAI as part of the intake process. Four groups were identified; three AD/HD groups (Inattentive type, Combined type, & Not otherwise Specified) and a control group of counseling cases without an AD/HD diagnosis. The AD/HD-NOS group was excluded from the study due to the small group size of six. A MANOVA resulted in significance differences between the AD/HD-I and AD/HD-C groups; therefore, they were analyzed as separate groups. A MANOVA comparing the AD/HD groups and the control group revealed significance differences using select PAI clinical scales hypothesized to capture AD/HD symptoms. Descriptive and predictive discriminant function analyses (DFA) with a set of PAI subscales hypothesized to most relate to adult symptoms of AD/HD were significant, with modest results. DFA revealed a hit rate of 71.4% for prediction of clients with AD/HD-I; 30.8% for predicting AD/HD-C, and 78.9% predicting no AD/HD. Cut-off scores for AD/HD were suggested for four PAI scales. Strengths and limitations were discussed.