"Normal" personality inventories in clinical assessment: General requirements and the potential for using the NEO Personality Inventory.

Issues pertaining to the use of "normal" personality inventories in clinical assessment are discussed. The basic tasks of a clinical evaluation are outlined, and the ability of normal measures of personality such as the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO–PI) to contribute to clinical assessment is considered. The authors conclude that normal personality tests should not be used as stand-alone measures in a clinical evaluation and that currently there is insufficient evidence to support the use of the NEO–PI for the differential diagnosis of psychopathology. The authors note that normal measures of personality show the greatest potential for contribution to clinical assessment in identifying stable personality characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)