The personality assessment inventory (pai) in child custody evaluations: some contextual and psychometric considerations
The personality assessment inventory (pai) in child custody evaluations: some contextual and psychometric considerations

Summary/Abstract: The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is used in the assessment of a broad range of clinical variables and interpersonal functioning in clinical and forensic settings. It has been identified as the second most frequently utilized broadband instrument in the evaluation of adults by forensic psychologists and the third most frequently utilized self-report measure in the assessment of parents undergoing child custody evaluation (CCE). The child custody evaluation context tends to be susceptible to, or to “pull for” positive, self-favorable presentation on the part of parents during interviews and psychological testing. A review of the literature finds that, whereas on average almost all of the PAI clinical scales are at average levels or suppressed in the CCE context, several scales tapping more positive personal and interpersonal functioning tend to be moderately elevated. This paper focuses particularly on the significance of elevations on the MAN-G (Grandiosity) and ARD-O (Obsessive-Compulsive) subscales in contexts that pull for positive response distortion, such as the CCE context.

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