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Answers to some frequently
asked questions
about the
Personality Adjective Check List (PACL)
Q: What can you
tell me about reliability and validity?
Q: What types of
individuals may be given the PACL?
Q: Can the PACL be used
in other populations?
Q: How does the
PACL fit in with other measures of Millon's personalities?
Q: What types
of scoring
services are available?
Q: What can you tell me about
reliability and validity?
A: In terms of reliability, alpha coefficients for the
personality scales ranged from .76 to .89 across sexes, with a median of .82. Test-retest
correlations ranged from .60 to .85 across sexes over a 3-month interval (Median = .71).
With regard to validity, the PACL was developed in such a way that it was validated
against Millon's model during all phases of test construction. This ensures that the PACL
is truly an instrument of theory. The PACL has also been validated against several widely
used measures of personality, mood, and dispositional variables, among them the MCMI-II,
CPI, 16PF, ISI, IAS-R, and MAACL. For example, PACL scales were found to correlate between
.45 and .75 (Median = .59) with comparable MCMI-II scales. The PACL Manual should
be consulted for a thorough discussion of reliability and validity. Information on the
test's early development history can be found in Dr. Strack's original 1987 publication in
the Journal of Personality Assessment, "Development and Validation of an
Adjective Check List to Assess the Millon Personality Types in a Normal Population"
(see the References section of the PACL web page for a complete
reference).
Q: What types of individuals may be
given the PACL?
A: The PACL is appropriate for applied use with nonpsychiatric
patients and normals 16 years-of-age and older who read at minimally the 8th-grade level.
The PACL has been successfully used with a wide variety of mental health and counseling
clients, medical patients, high-school and college students, the elderly, and different
types of employees (e.g., police and worker's compensation claimants).
Q: Can the PACL be used in other
populations?
A: We have had reports from people who have used the PACL with
young adolescents (13-15 years-old), adults with little formal education, and psychiatric
patients. While we like to encourage new, experimental uses for the test in a research
context, subjects such as these were not included in the PACL normative sample. As a rule,
applied use of the PACL should not go beyond the types of subjects and settings previously
described.
Q: How does the PACL fit in with
other measures of Millon's personalities?
A: The PACL was developed on the basis of Millon's (1969/1983)
original model of personality. It is unique among measures of Millon's styles in being an
adjective check list that assesses purely normal character. Additionally, the PACL is
exceptionally quick, efficient, cost-effective, and may be used as either a self-report or
rating form. These features lend the PACL to many settings where use of more narrowly
focused questionnaires may be undesirable or inappropriate.
Q: What types of scoring services
are available?
A: Hand
scoring, PC-based computer scoring, and PACLOnline
internet scoring services are now available. Hand scoring involves the use of
templates and a separate profile sheet for recording answers. We also offer self-contained software programs
with unlimited uses for IBM-compatible computers
called AutoPACL and WinPACL that will
administer, score, and interpret the measure at your home or office. New for
2000, our PACLOnline service allows you to
administer, score and interpret the PACL with any computer with an internet
connection, anywhere in the world, at any time!
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