Personality traits and mental health treatment utilization.

Recent theory and research suggest a relation between five-factor model personality traits and mental health treatment utilization, even after controlling for psychiatric disorders and global functioning. The current report further tests this hypothesis in a large clinical sample, using a wider array of treatment modalities than has been previously studied. Overall, results were limited and inconsistent.

Substance or style? An investigation of the NEO-PI-R validity scales.

The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992b) has been criticized for the absence of validity scales designed to detect response distortion. Recently, validity scales were developed from the items of the NEO-PI-R (Schinka, Kinder, & Kremer, 1997) and several studies have used a variety of methods to test their use. However, it is controversial whether these scales are measuring something that is substantive (such as psychopathology or its absence) or stylistic (which might be effortful distortion or less conscious processes such as lack of insight).

The use of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) in assessing offenders.

The intersection between the legal and mental health professions is sometimes marked by controversy, and the application of psychological assessments to forensic issues is no exception. However, the field of psychological assessment holds particular promise for clarifying decision making within the forensic arena, as it can bring a particularly well-established body of theory and data to bear upon clinical forensic practice. This article describes one psychometric instrument, the Personality Assessment Inventory, as an example of how particular assessment instruments can help inform this process.