Disclosure Index (X)
The Disclosure Index was designed to measure whether a client’s responses were open and revealing as opposed to defensive and secretive. If the MCMI-III raw score on the Disclosure Index is below 34, it most likely indicates a defensive underreporting of psychopathology. It may also mean that the person did not read or understand the questions correctly. A further interpretation is that the client is hesitant, reserved, and overconcerned with seeking social approval. However, low Disclosure Index scores on the MCMI-II were not found to be particularly sensitive because subjects requested to “fake good” still produced generally acceptable Disclosure Index scores (Retzlaff et al., 1991). This means that when clients do fake good extensively enough to produce a clearly low Disclosure Index, the profile can be considered invalid with a fair degree of certainty.