This summary of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) describes the development of the test, and the population on which it was standardized. The PAI has norms for both clinical and normative populations and can be used on any individual over the age of 18. The PAI is written at a 4th grade reading level making it widely accessible to a variety of adults. The paper further describes the subscales of the PAI, the psychometric qualities of the PAI, the inventory's applications and its strengths and weaknesses.
Personality Assessment Inventory
PAI: Personality Assessment Inventory
History & Development
The PAI (Personality Assessment Inventory) was developed by Leslie Morey in 1991 in an attempt to provide a comprehensive, self-administered assessment tool that would be useful in identifying major clinical conditions, such as personality disorders and clinical depression (Butchner, 2010). The inventory was developed using a construct validation framework, that began by identifying the specific constructs to be measured and then identifying potential items for each construct (Morey, 2007). "The construct validation approach recognizes the importance of both adequate theoretical descriptions of constructs that an instrument is intended to measure and empirical methods to refine the items and scales that measure them" (Blais, Baity, & Hopwood, DATE, p.2). The inventory possesses 22 separate, non-overlapping scales and special attention was given during the development process to ensure that the scales would not overlap in anyway. The development process went through a ten-step process, beginning with surveys of test users to determine what was missing and what was needed in an assessment of clinical conditions and personality. From there, the developers conducted a review of the literature and then identified the major constructs they wished to examine. An initial pool of 2200 items was created, which was then reduced to the final 344 items through the use of an external bias panel and statistical analyses (Morey, 2007). Morey designed the test to have a 4th grade reading level, to make it accessible to a wide range of individuals, but the test was standardized and developed for an adult population. Norms for the test exist for an adult population or a college student population (Morey, 2007).
Test Description & Psychometrics
The PAI is a 344 item, self-report assessment tool that can be completed by most adult individuals in less than an hour. The inventory contains 22 separate scales, including 4 validity scales, 11 clinical scales, 5 treatment consideration scales and 2 interpersonal scales. The inventory also has a number of critical items that draw the assessor's attention to potential crisis situations that require immediate attention, such as psychopathy, crisis potential or self-harming behaviors (Morey, 2007).
Reliability has been measured through with internal consistency and test-retest reliability. With a normative sample, internal consistency was found to be .81, with a college sample it was .82 and with a clinical sample, internal consistency was .86. Test re-test reliability across all three of these samples was found to be .83. Thus, the PAI has strong reliability.
Scale validity is tested directly through the use of four validity scales. Two scales measure whether the respondent is providing haphazard responses or responding in an inconsistent manner. These scales are the Inconsistency Scale and the Infrequency Scale. Two additional validity scales assess the extent to which an individual is attempting to manage their impression, either positively (Positive Impression Scale) or negatively (Negative Impression Scale). Research has found that these four scales are accurate in detecting invalid responses (Morey, 2007).
Sample Items & Scoring Procedures
A trained professional can score the PAI. In order to administer the test, one requires the item booklet, a response sheet (either hand scoring style or machine scored), and a profile form for the appropriate sample group (adult or college student). Hand scoring is said to take less than 30 minutes (Morey, 2007). Scoring the PAI produces an individual score for each of the 22 scales. In addition to the validity scales listed above, the clinical scales include Somatic Complaints, Anxiety, Anxiety-Related Disorders, Depression, Mania, Paranoia, Schizophrenia, Borderline Traits, Anitsocial features, Alcohol Problems, and Drug Problems. The treatment consideration scales include Aggression, Suicidal Ideation, Stress, Nonsupport and Treatment Rejection. The two interpersonal scales are Dominance and Warmth. Many of the clinical scales, as well as the aggression scale, also have a number of subscales to provide more nuanced information bout each of the clinical conditions. For example, the Borderline Features scale has four subscales: Affective Instability, Identity Problems, Negative Relationships and Self-Harm.
The resulting score profiles can be compared to either normative or clinical populations. Raw scores are converted to T-scores using tables provided in the scoring manual. These tables were generated using either normative or clinical samples that were census matched and standardized (Morey, 2007). The manual provides average scores for each of the subscales, for example, the average T score for Borderline Traits is 59, indicating that individuals falling below this number are emotionally stable and do not reflect borderline traits. The individual mean scores for each scale vary and are presented within the testing manual (Morey, 2007).
Test Application
The PAI has been used in a number of different settings, including inpatient and outpatient psychiatric treatment, personnel selection, medical screening, criminal justice and forensic settings, assessment of PTSD in veterans, and substance abuse treatment and assessment. The scale is very relevant to clinical diagnosis, making it widely used in any setting where clinical diagnoses are suspected or sought. For example, the scale can be useful in diagnosing clinical depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and severe personality disorders, such as borderline personality disorder and anti-social personality disorder (Morey, 2007).
Because the assessment can be self administered to an individual or group, and because it is relatively quick to complete (less than an hour) and is provided at a low reading level (grade 4), the test is popular in both clinical treatment settings and research settings (Blais, Baity, & Hopwood, 2010).
Strengths & Weaknesses
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