Korean Cultural Influences on the Million clinical Multiaxial

Korean Cultural Influences on the Million clinical Multiaxial Inventory III: A Review Jonathan Doyle Carissa Contreras Matt Mellos Kristen Gage Gunsalus, A. J. , & Kelly, K. R. , (2001). Korean cultural influences on the millon clinical multiaxial inventory 111. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 23(2), pp. 151 -162.

Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory III MCMI-III n Popular tool for personality assessment (Schinka & Green, 1997). n It ranks among the most popular test in use by mental health professionals (Pitrowski, 1997). n Has been one of the three most widely researched personality instruments in recent years (Choca & Van Denburg, 1997). n Little research has been conducted to examine the effect of culture on the MCMI-III (Choca et al. 1997)

Culture is defined by the authors of the study as the accumulation of… 1. Behavioral patterns 2. Attitudes 3. Thoughts 4. and Symbols …of individuals over time.

Past Research n Eysenck & Lee (1985) -Found Koreans scored higher on Lie and Neuroticism scales than Americans on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. n Han (1996) -Found that Koreans score higher on Depression and Schizophrenia scales of the MMPI-2.

Purpose of the Study To investigate the effect of Korean culture on the results of the MCMI-III by comparing the profiles of Korean and American students.

Millon’s Theory n Self v. Other n Collectivism versus Individualism n Passive v. Active n Slow change, accommodating versus dynamic n Pain v. Pleasure n Use of pain to regulate versus benevolence

Hypothesis n Authors claim that because Koreans come from a culture that values other and passive tendencies, they will score higher on the Dependant and Compulsive scales of the MCMI-III than Americans. n Note: Pain-pleasure was omitted due to lack of research.

Methods n Participants: 147 Korean college students, 132 American college students. n Measure: The MCMI-III has 24 scales, 11 of which include clinical personality disorders (e. g. Dependant and Compulsive) n Test-retest reliability ranges from. 82 to. 96

Variables n Independent Variable: n Culture (Korean versus American) n Dependant Variable: n Personality assessment, as operationally defined by scores on the MCMI-III.

Results n Results were obtained using a MANOVA n Analysis found a significant multivariate effect for culture over all 11 scales, F (13, 265) = 18. 934, p <. 01. n The first hypothesis was supported. Korean students scored higher on Dependant scales. n The second hypothesis was not supported.

Discussion n Most of the differences between cultures matched expectations. Thus, Koreans scored higher on Schiziod, Dependant, and Depressive scales because these reflect the passive tendency on Millon’s passive-active dimension. Also, Koreans scored lower on Histrionic scales because they reflect an active tendency.

Discussion, cont’d n Exceptions: Koreans scored equivalent to Americans on Dependant scales, scored higher than Americans on Avoidant, Aggressive, and Self. Defeating scales. These would all suggest an active, pain approach to behavior, which is not indicative of Korean culture.

Implications n The role of culture cannot be looked over when counselor’s assess personality. -especially salient for first or second generations. Also, perhaps more passively oriented therapy may be utilized (e. g. Morita therapy).

Implications, cont’d n There is no universal assessment strategy when there are divergent cultural norms to contend with.

Three Informative Points n The power of culture in determining what is appropriate behavior n The differences inherent within collectivist versus individualistic cultures n That therapy should match the culture of the patient.

Points of Contention n The use of college students? n Language? n Why did authors not further explore the exceptions found in the study (e. g. what implications arise from Koreans scoring higher than Americans on Avoidant scales)?