Usefulness of the MAC scale in differentiating adolescents in normal, psychiatric, and substance abuse settings.

Abstract

Discriminant function analyses were performed on the MacAndrew (MAC) scale scores of 443 adolescents from 3 different samples (residential substance abusers, psychiatric inpatients, and high school students). Results indicated that the highest degree of discrimination occurred between substance abusers and normals. The considerable overlap observed in the MAC scores of substance abusers and psychiatric inpatients suggests that the MAC may be sensitive to characteristics common to both groups. Such characteristics may include high sensation seeking and delinquent-prone activity