Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K W Preng.
This study assessed whether the classification accuracy of the MacAndrew Scale (MAC; MacAndrew, 1965) could be improved by the addition of K corrections. The addition of K corrections to MAC Scale scores did not produce a significant improvement over the use of the MAC Scale alone.
The MacAndrew Alcoholism scale scores of 140 male patients from a large VA hospital were examined to assess whether the MAC scale can detect alcoholism among patients with psychiatric diagnoses. There were five diagnostic groups, each with 28 patients: alcoholics, alcoholics with neurotic disorders, alcoholics with personality disorders, nonalcoholic patients with neurotic disorders, and nonalcoholic patients with personality disorders. The MAC scale was able to differentiate alcoholics and nonalcoholic psychiatric patients, but was unable to differentiate either of the alcoholic psychiatric groups from its nonalcoholic psychiatric counterpart. Thus, it appears that the MAC scale may be unable to identify alcoholism among patients with combined alcoholic-psychiatric diagnoses.
The research literature on the MacAndrew (MAC) Scale was surveyed to identify factors that influence the scale's usefulness as a screening device for alcohol misuse, and to explore the meaning of MAC Scale scores. Although the MAC Scale's ability to discriminate alcoholic and substance misuse groups from nonalcoholic psychiatric groups is well documented, the scale may not discriminate between alcoholics and antisocial individuals, or between patients with combined alcoholic psychiatric diagnoses and nonalcoholic psychiatric patients. Recommendations for future research and for the clinical application of the MAC Scale are provided.