psychological assessment

Paper October

Introduction

The psychological assessment is a testing process that uses advanced procedures in order to determine a person’s conduct, competence and personality. Psychological assessment is also known as the psychological testing process. This process can only be performed by a licensed psychologist or a psychology trainee. This is because the psychologists are the only people capable of performing and interpreting the psychological tests. The behaviors determined from the psychological test reveals a person’s main cultural behaviors. This is always revealed despite the fact that the focus of the test is to assess performances such as the personality, attitudes and values. The total nature of the psychological test always causes the determination of a person’s behavior. These behaviors are reflected in their main cultures. This is because a society in which a person belongs influences their behavior as they grow up. However, when the psychological testing is used inappropriately, it may lead to institutional racism. In order to avoid this, the therapists should consider the potential testing and the assessment problems when dealing with culturally diverse people Hood & Johnson, 2007).

The Importance of Accuracy

Most of the clinical decision makers assess the accuracy of the individual test results.

This enables the psychologists to determine whether they can give diagnosis or if they can accept an individual in a training programme. For the minorities, the psychological testing and assessment have always described them inaccurately. These tests always reveal unfavorable results for the culturally diverse people. Therefore, a skill in assessing the diverse groups is a key factor in the professional practice of psychological assessment. This need arises due to the increase in globalization, widespread immigration and the debate over the potential test bias when used with the diverse groups. In addition, the American Psychological Association necessitates the psychologists to receive adequate training in order to work well with the diverse groups (Hersen, 2004).

Therefore, it is crucial to practice accuracy in working with the diverse groups. In order to ensure accuracy, the psychologists should be competent enough in order to avoid wrong diagnostics. Language skills, evaluation of the cultural and the racial identity, proper use of the instruments and the cultural skills constitutes accuracy. Without accuracy, the psychologist will not be able to determine the client’s language skills. Finding out the client’s language skills is always the first step that enables the psychologists to evaluate the diverse clients. After the evaluation, the psychologist may resort to conducting the assessment in the client’s native language. However, a translator may also be used in order to enable understanding during the assessment. In addition, assessment instruments translated in the client’s native language may be used. This will enable understanding and in turn prevent inaccuracy cases.

The psychologists should be accurate in determining the cultural competence of the clients. This is achieved by exploring the client’s histories, attitude and knowledge. The psychologist should also consider their understanding of the various cultures. This enables accuracy since the psychologists are able to relate well with their clients. The diagnostic issues should be in relation to the cultural considerations. It is always necessary to pay attention to the cultural explanation of the client’s difficulty. Most surveys have shown the different rates of diagnoses in the different cultures. However, it is not clear whether these different rates represent under diagnosis, over diagnosis or misdiagnosis. When errors occur in the diagnosis, they always result to poor decisions and bad treatment. Therefore, the combination of the standard psychological treatment and the cultural interventions is always beneficial since it ensures accuracy.

In order to ensure accuracy in the interpretation of the diverse group, the cultural competence and the client’s relation to his culture should be considered. Though this is always necessary, the clinicians find it challenging. In the interpretation guidelines, the clinician should include the basics on how the instrument works in the different cultures. This includes the translation idiom, and the different types of validity. However, since it is hard to demonstrate the similarity, the clinicians are required to be flexible and sensitive. It is always hard to explain the similarity due to the many steps involved. With this, the clinicians will ensure accuracy in the assessment (Hays & Iwamasa, 2006).

Appropriate Assessment Methods

The question of whether the technical validity of the assessment method should be considered. Whether the test should be used, should also be considered in order to determine the appropriateness of the assessment method. The test used should be the best in relation to the characteristic it is supposed to access. The test should also be used for the proposed purpose. This is an ethical case. In order to ensure the case is used for the appropriate purpose, an assessment of the consequences of testing in terms of the social values should be made. In addition, there are assessment systems that will yield desired results when used with minority people. These tests are not always in the form of the standardized tests. Some of these standardized tests can be used to obtain accurate information concerning the minority clients. However, the therapists should be highly skilled and be able to interpret these results.

In the interoperation of these results, they will apply the skills obtained in the process of becoming a culturally competitive evaluator. The standard psychological tests are the tasks given under standards conditions. This psychological test gives a measurement scale for the steady personal differences. This is in relation to the psychological concept. It then relates people to the psychological concept. The standard testing is proficient and time sensitive. It produces expected and precise results for the large group of people. However, for the large number of the culturally diverse people, it produces inaccurate and expected results. The norm-reference psychological tests are appropriate for assessing a person’s intelligence, reading abilities, spelling abilities and the adaptive behavior. They are appropriate for the norm group alone. The psychologists have many options on the tests to use in evaluating an individual (Gopaul & Armour, 2002).

The cultural group cultures exist within a wide framework. In relation to the assessment appropriateness, a person’s behavior should be judged in relation to the values and their group culture. In order to validate the explanation of the behavior as psychopathological, there must be proof that the members belonging to the culture consider the behavior to exaggerate or distort the cultural acceptable behaviors. The level of reliance placed in the standardized tests can be reduced when the therapists resort to other assessment methods. This involves conducting interviews, observations and conducting the informal assessments. Interviewing enables the therapist to acquire valuable information. Example, when interviewing a child, the interview enables obtaining the information not only from the child. This information can also be obtained from parents, teachers and other people who have a close relationship with the child. The interviews are always less planned. In addition, they enable the people being interviewed to give the answers in their own words.

One of the most successful interviews is the formal clinical interview. This interview always lasts from thirty to sixty minutes. It is usually done before the psychological assessment. The person being interviewed gives information on his history, life experiences, work and family background. The observation method can also give critical assessment information. Example, observation can be used to determine how an individual behaves in school, at home and in the community. It can also provide information on whether the teachers treat them in a different way from the other students. All these answers can be provided by observing the child’s behaviors in the environment. This enables the therapists to obtain the information. In addition, they are also able to conduct the assessment in a professional manner. These methods are effective as compared to some of the psychological tests. They are also better for the culturally diverse clients. This is because it enables the therapists to obtain accurate information concerning their clients (Groth, 2003).

Tests and Assessment

In the assessment of the culturally diverse groups, it is best to use a psychological test that reveals the persons significant traits. This is achieved with the help of an examiner who is knowledgeable with the features of the individual’s cultural background. Various tests are relevant in the assessment of the scholar functioning and psychopathology amidst the culturally diverse clients. However, most clinicians are not perfect when it comes to using these tests. Among these clinicians are the psychiatrists. The psychiatrists have not undergone any training concerning the use of the psychological tests. Therefore, they do not possess any knowledge on the culturally sensitive psychological tests. These psychological tests should be appropriate for the client. When determining the test to use in the assessment of the intellectual functioning of the client, the clinician should consider the negative impact of the clients’ racial or ethnic difference. This is on the correct assessment of the case.

Example, when the intelligence tests are offered to the African Americans by the white practitioners, they obtain lower scores. This is in contrast to when they are offered by the African American clinicians. Therefore, strategies that aim to reduce the sociocultural gap existing between the examiners and the clients should be introduced. This will reduce bias in the assessment of the intellectual functioning in the culturally diverse groups. Therefore, it is crucial for the therapist to use the fact-finding skills when assessing the culturally diverse clients. This should be in relation to the cultural competence with the use of the interviewing and the reasoning skills. When these skills are accompanied with the clinical observations, the interviewer will be able to know the appropriate interview questions to ask. They will also know how to interpret the acquired data and how to develop a treatment plan that considers the issue of cultural sensitivity (Fernández, 2003).

The clinicians should also practice cultural sensitivity when using the mental status exam, with the culturally diverse people. The mental status exam assumes that the normal behaviors and the cognitive processes are shared by the normal people. This is despite their cultural background. The self-assessment of the bias and prejudice is advocated in instances when the clinician fails to share the racial or ethnic background of the client. The participants of the same race or ethnicity as the clients exhibit less bias and prejudice towards the clients. This is in contrast to the amount of bias and prejudice portrayed towards the clients of a different racial or ethnic background. In addition, cultural bias can also be prevented by using culturally appropriate questions. This improves cultural sensitivity in the assessment of the psychopathology among the clients in the culturally diverse groups. Example, since most Asians dislike comparing themselves with other people, the interviewer should avoid questions such as, “What do you think of yourself as compared to other people?”

The clinicians relating with the culturally diverse clients should consider implementing the assessment strategies that are not biased. Since the assessment strategies that are not biased are unavailable, it will be wise to implement one. This improves the efforts of controlling bias in the assessment of the culturally diverse clients. On the other hand, instead of implementing an unbiased assessment strategy, the clinician can find a way of using the strategies perfectly with the diverse clients. However, some of the substitute assessment practices may imitate the real life situation through the skill demonstration in the work context. The assessment process always takes a long time as compared to the traditional standardized tests used to collect data. This data is always sensitive in cultural terms. It is also always centered on the client. Since it requires exceptional skills, the therapists always take long before they become proficient with the tests and assessment methods (Diller, 2011).

Conclusion

The standardized test produces inaccurate and expected results for the culturally diverse clients. Because of this, the therapists who deal with the diverse clients should resort to other methods such as interviewing and observation. This is because they enable the acquisition of accurate data. However, in order to achieve this, the therapists have to be ready to acquire new skills. These skills should be able to enable them to study the behaviors of the culturally diverse people. In turn, these skills will enable them to gain the trust of their culturally diverse clients. In addition, they will also create a good rapport with the clients. They will be able to know the appropriate assessment methods to use and tests to use in order to avoid bias in the assessment process. The psychologists should know the correct question to ask the culturally diverse clients. In addition, their assessment strategies should not be cultural bias. They can find out a way of using the available strategies in ways that control bias in the culturally diverse clients (Appleby, Colon & Hamilton, 2011).

References

Appleby, G. A., Colon, E., & Hamilton, J. (2011). Diversity, oppression, and social functioning: Person-in-environment assessment and intervention. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Diller, J. V. (2011). Cultural diversity: A primer for the human services. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

Fernández, B. R. (2003). Encyclopedia of psychological assessment. London: SAGE Publications.

Groth-Marnat, G. (2003). Handbook of psychological assessment. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Gopaul-McNicol, S.-A., & Armour-Thomas, E. (2002). Assessment and culture: Psychological tests with minority populations. San Diego: Academic Press.

Hays, P. A., & Iwamasa, G. (2006). Culturally responsive cognitive-behavioral therapy: Assessment, practice, and supervision. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Hays, P. A. (2008). Addressing cultural complexities in practice: Assessment, diagnosis, and therapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Hersen, M. (2004). Comprehensive handbook of psychological assessment. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Hood, A. B., & Johnson, R. W. (2007). Assessment in counseling: A guide to the use of psychological assessment procedures. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (2003). Positive psychological assessment: A handbook of models and measures. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.