Relativismo cultural del Modelo de Personalidad de Millon en América Latina: Un estudio con adolescentes / Cultural relativity of the Millon's Personality Model in Latin-America: A study with adolescents

RESUMEN

Este estudio profundiza el análisis estadístico e interpretativo de cuatro patrones de personalidad del Inventario Clínico para Adolescentes de Millon (MACI-Millon, 1993). Estos patrones (Sumiso, Dramatizador, Egoísta y Conformista) han presentado un comportamiento no acorde con la teoría, en estudios realizados con adolescentes latinoamericanos. Se informa una revisión de los datos del estudio de baremación chilena del MACI, desarrollado con una muestra de 807 adolescentes, de 13 a 19 años, diferenciada por sexo y dicotomizada en dos grupos no-consultantes (200 hombres y 206 mujeres) y consultantes (212 hombres y 189 mujeres) que contestó el MACI y el Inventario Multifásico de la Personalidad de Minnesota para Adolescentes (MMPI-A). Un conjunto de análisis de validez diagnóstica determinó que las escalas MACI diferenciaban de modo inverso a lo esperado teóricamente y estableció puntajes de corte óptimos entre los dos grupos. La comparación, mediante las escalas clínicas del MMPI-A, entre los grupos de funcionamiento sano y funcionamiento alterado creados por la segmentación de la muestra según el puntaje de corte de cada escala, indicó que estas escalas presentaban el comportamiento contra-teórico observado previamente. Estos resultados son discutidos considerando el síndrome cultural individualismo - colectivismo y los rasgos personales colectivistas que se presentan preferentemente en los grupos de adolescentes latinoamericanos. También se ofrecen criterios de interpretación clínica para estas escalas que integran características específicas relacionadas con la interacción social afectiva (escalas Dramatizador y Egoísta) y el respeto a las normas grupales (escalas Sumiso y Conformista) que se presentan preferentemente en la cultura latinoamericana.

ABSTRACT

This article deepens on the statistical and interpretative analysis done with four personality patterns from the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI - Millon, 1993). These patterns (Submissive, Dramatizing, Egotistic, and Conforming) have presented, in different studies done with Latin-American adolescent samples,a psychometric behaviour different from the one we shall expect in agreement with Millon's theory. To do this, the data from the MACI's Chilean normative study was revised deeply. A sample of 807 adolescents, aged 13 through 19, divided by sex and also divided into a non consulting group (200 males and 206 females), and a clinical group (212 males and 189 females), was selected. All participants responded the MACI and the Minnesota Multiphasic Person ality Inventory for Adolescents (MMPI-A, Butcheret al., 1992). With the MACI scales data, a serie of statistical analysis for diagnostic validity (Hsu, 2002) that included Cohen's effect size (d),a percentage of non-overlap of the two distributions (U1), areas under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and sensibility and specificity analysis, were run through successive stages. First, results confirmed that the scales Submissive, Dramatizing, Egotistic and Conforming scored significantly higher in the non-consulting groups than they did in the consulting groups, this finding confirmed that Submissive, Dramatizing, Egotistic and Conforming scales presented a counter-theory behaviour. Second, the same set of analysis allowed to determine cutting point scores that had the capability for discriminating among participants coming from the non-consulting and the consulting groups. Later, the MMPI-A clinical scales data were analysed through a set of MANOVAS and ANOVAS drawing significant differentiation between the healthy functioning and disorderly functioning groups that were created by dividing the sample on the basis of cutting point scores from each scale. These analyses also confirmed the counter-theory behavior for the scales Submissive, Dramatizing, Egotistic and Conforming found in previous studies in Latin-America. Results showed that healthy functioning groups had higher MACI scores and MMPI-A scores around T 50, which indicated a healthy functioning; vice versa disordered functioning groups presented lower MACI scores and MMPI-A scores around or higher than T 60, which is an indicator of pathological functioning. The interpretation of these results was done considering the cultural syndrome of individualism and collectivism which reflects shared attitudes, beliefs, norms, roles and values among people belonging to a specific cultural group. According to Triandis (2001), the central theme shared by collectivist individuals is the conception of themselves as aspects of groups or collectivities, on the other hand, the individualism central theme is the conception of the individuals as autonomous from groups. Collectivist adolescents are likely to define themselves by giving priority to in-group goals, they pay less attention to internal than external processes as determinant of social behavior, and they define the relationship with the in-group members as communal. Collectivist personal traits, affect the personality functioning of adolescents coming from Latin-American countries in two aspects They are reflected in elevations of the Dramatizing and Egotistic scales by integrating specific characteristics related to externalized, affective and warm social interactions; also they are reflected in elevations of the Submissive and Conforming scales by emphasizing specific characteristics related to the respect for the group norms and rules and keeping group harmony. At the end of the study, a bipolar clinical interpretation criteria, that includes the possibility of pathological functioning in very low and very high scores, is offered for each scale to be used as a guide for interpreting these MACI scores in the context of adolescence within the Latino-American culture.