1st Edition

Handbook of Cross-Cultural and Multicultural Personality Assessment

Edited By Richard H. Dana Copyright 2000

    Throughout the world as in the United States, psychologists are increasingly being called upon to evaluate clients whose backgrounds differ from their own. It has long been recognized that standard personality and psychopathology assessment instruments carry cultural biases, and in recent years, efforts to correct these biases have accelerated. The Handbook of Cross-Cultural and Multicultural Personality Assessment brings together researchers and practitioners from 12 countries with diverse ethnic and racial identities and training to present state-of-the-art knowledge about how best to minimize cultural biases in the assessment of personality and psychopathology. They consider research methodology, the design and construction of standard objective and projective tests, the use of measures of acculturation, racial identity, and culture-specific tests, the social etiquette of service delivery, and the interpretation of test data for clinical diagnosis. Ranging widely through all the relevant issues, they share a common collective vision of how culturally competent services should be delivered to clients.

    The Handbook offers the first comprehensive view of a consistent approach to cultural competence in assessment--a necessary precursor of effective intervention. It will become an indispensable reference for all those whose practice or research involves individuals with different ethnic and racial identities.

    Contents: I.B. Weiner, Foreword. Preface. Part I:Overview and a Non-Euro-American Perspective. R.H. Dana, An Assessment-Intervention Model for Research and Practice With Multicultural Populations. E.F. Morris, An Africentric Perspective for Clinical Research and Practice. Part II:Minimizing Bias in Assumptions, Methodology, and Research Studies. R.G. Malgady, Myths About the Null Hypothesis and the Path to Reform. J. Allen, J.A. Walsh, A Construct-Based Approach to Equivalence: Methodologies for Cross-Cultural/Multicultural Personality Assessment Research. F. Van de Vijver, The Nature of Bias. Part III:Acculturation and Cultural/Racial Identity. I. Cuéllar, Acculturation as a Moderator of Personality and Psychological Assessment. G. Roysircar-Sodowsky, M.V. Maestas, Acculturation, Ethnic Identity, and Acculturative Stress: Evidence and Measurement. A.K. Burlew, S. Bellow, M. Lovett, Racial Identity Measures: A Review and Classification System. J.E. Trimble, Social Psychological Perspectives on Changing Self-Identification Among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Part IV:The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Other Objective Tests. R.W. Handel, Y.S. Ben-Porath, Multicultural Assessment With the MMPI-2: Issues for Research and Practice. D.S. Nichols, J. Padilla, E.L. Gomez-Maqueo, Issues in the Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Use of the MMPI-2. R.R. Holden, Are There Promising MMPI Substitutes for Assessing Psychopathology and Personality? Review and Prospect. Part V:Projective Methods: The Rorschach Comprehensive System and Holtzman Inkblot Test. D. Ephraim, Culturally Relevant Research and Practice With the Rorschach Comprehensive System. A. Andronikof-Sanglade, Use of the Rorschach Comprehensive System in Europe: State of the Art. E.V. Vinet, The Rorschach Comprehensive System in Iberoamerica. A.A. Pires, National Norms for the Rorschach Normative Study in Portugal. W.H. Holtzman, Application of the Holtzman Inkblot Technique in Different Cultures. Part VI:Projective Methods: The Thematic Apperception Test and Other Picture-Story Tests. D. Ephraim, A Psychocultural Approach to TAT Scoring and Interpretation. E. Herzberg, Use of TAT in Multicultural Societies: Brazil and the United States. A. Ávila-Espada, Objective Scoring for the TAT. G. Costantino, R.G. Malgady, Multicultural and Cross-Cultural Utility of the TEMAS (Tell-Me-A-Story) Test. T. Fagulha, The Once-Upon-A-Time Test. Part VII:Special Issues in Practice. S.I. Carbonell, An Assessment With Hispanics in Minnesota. E.F. Morris, Assessment Practices With African Americans: Combining Standard Assessment Measures Within an Africentric Orientation. I. Cuéllar, G. GonzÁlez, Cultural Identity Description and Cultural Formulation for Hispanics. N.G. Dinges, M.M. Atlis, S.L. Ragan, Assessment of Depression Among American Indians and Alaska Natives. P.F. Langman, Assessment Issues With Jewish Clients. S.R. López, Teaching Culturally Informed Psychological Assessment.

    Biography

    Richard H. Dana

    "...this book will make a significant contribution to the field of psychology. There are many hands-on practical strategies, making it an excellent text for practitioners and even researchers....this is a powerful asset to the mental health field. I strongly recommend this volume for use as a supplemental or even a major text in multi-ethnic studies."
    MultiCultural Review

    "The most comprehensive and scholarly source on multicultural personality assessment available, this Handbook is a contemporary classic in the field and sure to be considered the definitive work in the area for the next decade. Dana has gathered an internationally acclaimed group of authors who provide riveting insights into the assessment of personality across cultures and cover essential topics and issues (ethics, culture-specific guidelines, acculturation, racial and cultural identity, and objective and projective assessment methods, just to name a few) with clarity and depth. A must read for every mental health clinician, researcher, administrator, supervisor, and teacher."
    Joseph G. Ponterotto, Ph.D.
    Fordham University

    "This book is a major contribution to the field of ethnicity and assessment. It offers conceptual and methodological bases for understanding cultural bias, psychological testing and evaluation, and intervention. The chapters are written by experts in the field. This is an impressive and highly important book for researchers, practitioners, and students alike."
    Stanley Sue
    University of California, Davis