Summary

Despite the proven psychometric quality of the MACI in Chile, 6 of its clinical scales differentiated in a reverse fashion between adolescents who seek or receive psychological help and those who do not; In addition, these scales appear inversely associated with psychological disorders. Contrary to the theoretical foundations of the MACI, this pattern of results suggests that these scales might not be assessing psychological maladjustment in Chile but rather the absence of it, which points to the possibility of construct bias in these counter-theoretical (CT) scales. To examine this issue, a purposive sample of 49 Chilean clinical psychologists were asked to assess, using a 5-point scale, the extent to which the definition of the construct measured by each CT scale and the content of their items reflected psychological maladjustment in Chilean adolescents. One-sample t-tests suggest that the definitions of the Submissive and Egoistic scales and nearly all the items of the CT scales show construct bias. These results are discussed in terms of cultural differences regarding the notion of adolescent maladjustment, the original item selection criteria, and the implications of CT scales for professional practice.