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1996

Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground

Richard H Dana Portland State University

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1

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground

Richard H Dana

Portland State University

Southern Oregon State College

I-This response to Velasquez et al 1996 was written

for Dr Amado Padilla Editor Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences who subsequently decided not to

publish these papers

I

Running head MMPI COMMONGROUND

l

2

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Abstract

~ Velasquez et al allege that rounding up the usual

suspects in my article on culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics provides information that is

inaccurate raises unanswered questions and can

discourage assessors reluctant to take extra

precautions required with Hispanic clients They

contribute an overview of history and current research

that leads to their own recommendations Using the

idiom of usual and unusual suspects further

investigation of all suspects appears necessary

Juxtaposition of two sets of assessment

recommendations-theirs and mine-suggests that an

ostensible battleground can become a commonground to

better inform assessors of cultural competence issues

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

3

Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground

Introduction

A draft of a subsequently published paper (Dana

1988) presented at the Seattle MMPI meeting resulted in

the hurried departure of some attendees I have waited

for the other shoe to drop believing that this might

happen in a Contemporary Psychology review of my book

(Dana 1993) but gratified that an MMPI establishment

reaction to my paper (Dana 1995b) has finally been

forthcoming (Velsquez Butcher Garrido amp Cabiya )

Their paper not only provides access to literature not

as yet published or presented when my paper was written

but also responds to several issues I have repeatedly

presented that have never been publicly acknowledged I

will comment on all of their alleged usual suspects

but there are also several infrequently acknowledged

unusual suspects These new suspects assume overshy

arching importance and include the cultural basis qf

MMPI assumptionstest construction the invidious nature

of group comparisons and use of now controversial

statistical methods It should be noted that in the

original scenario one of the usual sus~ects was indeed

the guilty party

4

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Usual Suspects

The Original MMPI

The MMPI is a 50-odd year old suspect that is not

fundamentally different than its offspring the MMPI-2

The original small and unrepresentative criterion groups

and item-keying have preserved an antiquated psychiatric

diagnostic system as the impliicit theoretical rationale

for the clinical scales as noted by Cronbach (1990) and

reiterated by Helmes and Reddon (1993) The MMPI-2

clinical scales remain linked to these derelict original

criterion group samples with resulting limitations on

their generality Thus the Minnesota culture bias in

the 1940 sample representativeness remains in the itemshy

keying to transcend the use of more recent norms

(Helmes amp Reddon 1993) In addition the MMPI-2

standardization underrepresents Hispanics in numbers and

overrepresents their social economic and educational

status

While I do not prefer the MMPI over MMPI-2 for use

with Hispanics my comments on the documented persistshy

ence of MMPI-2 scores significantly inflated by cultural

variance on L K 3 and 4 led to theconclusion that

the MMPI-2 is neither better nor worse for Hispanics

(p 309) with regard to a potential for pathologization

As quoted out-of-context by Vel~squez et aI this

5

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

conclusion became a generality instead of an explicit

caveat

MMPI vs DSM-IV

The heart of my disagreement with Velasquez et al

does lie in the use of both the MMPIMMPI-2 and DSM-IV

as if they were genuine etics The continuing use of

standard psychological tests that are inherently

discriminatory is precisely the reason for my paper As

a result psychologists and consumers alike must

continue to foster research and dialogue to provide

feasible corrections until tests appear that have

cross-cultural validation histories to proclaim

themselves as less discriminatory less prejudicial and

less pathologizing than the MMPIMMPI-2

I take the literature seriously that indicts

standard psychological tests as potentially

pathologizing caricaturing and dehumanizing as a

result of confounding culture with psychopathologyor

personality constructs More useful tests are gradually

replacing the MMPIMMPI-2 Nonetheless a vested

interest represented by substantially more than 5000

publications means that these tests will continue to be

with us for some time There is an ethical imperative

to render their continued usage less prejudicial for

millions of potential assessees

2

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Abstract

~ Velasquez et al allege that rounding up the usual

suspects in my article on culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics provides information that is

inaccurate raises unanswered questions and can

discourage assessors reluctant to take extra

precautions required with Hispanic clients They

contribute an overview of history and current research

that leads to their own recommendations Using the

idiom of usual and unusual suspects further

investigation of all suspects appears necessary

Juxtaposition of two sets of assessment

recommendations-theirs and mine-suggests that an

ostensible battleground can become a commonground to

better inform assessors of cultural competence issues

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

3

Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground

Introduction

A draft of a subsequently published paper (Dana

1988) presented at the Seattle MMPI meeting resulted in

the hurried departure of some attendees I have waited

for the other shoe to drop believing that this might

happen in a Contemporary Psychology review of my book

(Dana 1993) but gratified that an MMPI establishment

reaction to my paper (Dana 1995b) has finally been

forthcoming (Velsquez Butcher Garrido amp Cabiya )

Their paper not only provides access to literature not

as yet published or presented when my paper was written

but also responds to several issues I have repeatedly

presented that have never been publicly acknowledged I

will comment on all of their alleged usual suspects

but there are also several infrequently acknowledged

unusual suspects These new suspects assume overshy

arching importance and include the cultural basis qf

MMPI assumptionstest construction the invidious nature

of group comparisons and use of now controversial

statistical methods It should be noted that in the

original scenario one of the usual sus~ects was indeed

the guilty party

4

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Usual Suspects

The Original MMPI

The MMPI is a 50-odd year old suspect that is not

fundamentally different than its offspring the MMPI-2

The original small and unrepresentative criterion groups

and item-keying have preserved an antiquated psychiatric

diagnostic system as the impliicit theoretical rationale

for the clinical scales as noted by Cronbach (1990) and

reiterated by Helmes and Reddon (1993) The MMPI-2

clinical scales remain linked to these derelict original

criterion group samples with resulting limitations on

their generality Thus the Minnesota culture bias in

the 1940 sample representativeness remains in the itemshy

keying to transcend the use of more recent norms

(Helmes amp Reddon 1993) In addition the MMPI-2

standardization underrepresents Hispanics in numbers and

overrepresents their social economic and educational

status

While I do not prefer the MMPI over MMPI-2 for use

with Hispanics my comments on the documented persistshy

ence of MMPI-2 scores significantly inflated by cultural

variance on L K 3 and 4 led to theconclusion that

the MMPI-2 is neither better nor worse for Hispanics

(p 309) with regard to a potential for pathologization

As quoted out-of-context by Vel~squez et aI this

5

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

conclusion became a generality instead of an explicit

caveat

MMPI vs DSM-IV

The heart of my disagreement with Velasquez et al

does lie in the use of both the MMPIMMPI-2 and DSM-IV

as if they were genuine etics The continuing use of

standard psychological tests that are inherently

discriminatory is precisely the reason for my paper As

a result psychologists and consumers alike must

continue to foster research and dialogue to provide

feasible corrections until tests appear that have

cross-cultural validation histories to proclaim

themselves as less discriminatory less prejudicial and

less pathologizing than the MMPIMMPI-2

I take the literature seriously that indicts

standard psychological tests as potentially

pathologizing caricaturing and dehumanizing as a

result of confounding culture with psychopathologyor

personality constructs More useful tests are gradually

replacing the MMPIMMPI-2 Nonetheless a vested

interest represented by substantially more than 5000

publications means that these tests will continue to be

with us for some time There is an ethical imperative

to render their continued usage less prejudicial for

millions of potential assessees

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

3

Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground

Introduction

A draft of a subsequently published paper (Dana

1988) presented at the Seattle MMPI meeting resulted in

the hurried departure of some attendees I have waited

for the other shoe to drop believing that this might

happen in a Contemporary Psychology review of my book

(Dana 1993) but gratified that an MMPI establishment

reaction to my paper (Dana 1995b) has finally been

forthcoming (Velsquez Butcher Garrido amp Cabiya )

Their paper not only provides access to literature not

as yet published or presented when my paper was written

but also responds to several issues I have repeatedly

presented that have never been publicly acknowledged I

will comment on all of their alleged usual suspects

but there are also several infrequently acknowledged

unusual suspects These new suspects assume overshy

arching importance and include the cultural basis qf

MMPI assumptionstest construction the invidious nature

of group comparisons and use of now controversial

statistical methods It should be noted that in the

original scenario one of the usual sus~ects was indeed

the guilty party

4

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Usual Suspects

The Original MMPI

The MMPI is a 50-odd year old suspect that is not

fundamentally different than its offspring the MMPI-2

The original small and unrepresentative criterion groups

and item-keying have preserved an antiquated psychiatric

diagnostic system as the impliicit theoretical rationale

for the clinical scales as noted by Cronbach (1990) and

reiterated by Helmes and Reddon (1993) The MMPI-2

clinical scales remain linked to these derelict original

criterion group samples with resulting limitations on

their generality Thus the Minnesota culture bias in

the 1940 sample representativeness remains in the itemshy

keying to transcend the use of more recent norms

(Helmes amp Reddon 1993) In addition the MMPI-2

standardization underrepresents Hispanics in numbers and

overrepresents their social economic and educational

status

While I do not prefer the MMPI over MMPI-2 for use

with Hispanics my comments on the documented persistshy

ence of MMPI-2 scores significantly inflated by cultural

variance on L K 3 and 4 led to theconclusion that

the MMPI-2 is neither better nor worse for Hispanics

(p 309) with regard to a potential for pathologization

As quoted out-of-context by Vel~squez et aI this

5

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

conclusion became a generality instead of an explicit

caveat

MMPI vs DSM-IV

The heart of my disagreement with Velasquez et al

does lie in the use of both the MMPIMMPI-2 and DSM-IV

as if they were genuine etics The continuing use of

standard psychological tests that are inherently

discriminatory is precisely the reason for my paper As

a result psychologists and consumers alike must

continue to foster research and dialogue to provide

feasible corrections until tests appear that have

cross-cultural validation histories to proclaim

themselves as less discriminatory less prejudicial and

less pathologizing than the MMPIMMPI-2

I take the literature seriously that indicts

standard psychological tests as potentially

pathologizing caricaturing and dehumanizing as a

result of confounding culture with psychopathologyor

personality constructs More useful tests are gradually

replacing the MMPIMMPI-2 Nonetheless a vested

interest represented by substantially more than 5000

publications means that these tests will continue to be

with us for some time There is an ethical imperative

to render their continued usage less prejudicial for

millions of potential assessees

4

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Usual Suspects

The Original MMPI

The MMPI is a 50-odd year old suspect that is not

fundamentally different than its offspring the MMPI-2

The original small and unrepresentative criterion groups

and item-keying have preserved an antiquated psychiatric

diagnostic system as the impliicit theoretical rationale

for the clinical scales as noted by Cronbach (1990) and

reiterated by Helmes and Reddon (1993) The MMPI-2

clinical scales remain linked to these derelict original

criterion group samples with resulting limitations on

their generality Thus the Minnesota culture bias in

the 1940 sample representativeness remains in the itemshy

keying to transcend the use of more recent norms

(Helmes amp Reddon 1993) In addition the MMPI-2

standardization underrepresents Hispanics in numbers and

overrepresents their social economic and educational

status

While I do not prefer the MMPI over MMPI-2 for use

with Hispanics my comments on the documented persistshy

ence of MMPI-2 scores significantly inflated by cultural

variance on L K 3 and 4 led to theconclusion that

the MMPI-2 is neither better nor worse for Hispanics

(p 309) with regard to a potential for pathologization

As quoted out-of-context by Vel~squez et aI this

5

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

conclusion became a generality instead of an explicit

caveat

MMPI vs DSM-IV

The heart of my disagreement with Velasquez et al

does lie in the use of both the MMPIMMPI-2 and DSM-IV

as if they were genuine etics The continuing use of

standard psychological tests that are inherently

discriminatory is precisely the reason for my paper As

a result psychologists and consumers alike must

continue to foster research and dialogue to provide

feasible corrections until tests appear that have

cross-cultural validation histories to proclaim

themselves as less discriminatory less prejudicial and

less pathologizing than the MMPIMMPI-2

I take the literature seriously that indicts

standard psychological tests as potentially

pathologizing caricaturing and dehumanizing as a

result of confounding culture with psychopathologyor

personality constructs More useful tests are gradually

replacing the MMPIMMPI-2 Nonetheless a vested

interest represented by substantially more than 5000

publications means that these tests will continue to be

with us for some time There is an ethical imperative

to render their continued usage less prejudicial for

millions of potential assessees

5

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

conclusion became a generality instead of an explicit

caveat

MMPI vs DSM-IV

The heart of my disagreement with Velasquez et al

does lie in the use of both the MMPIMMPI-2 and DSM-IV

as if they were genuine etics The continuing use of

standard psychological tests that are inherently

discriminatory is precisely the reason for my paper As

a result psychologists and consumers alike must

continue to foster research and dialogue to provide

feasible corrections until tests appear that have

cross-cultural validation histories to proclaim

themselves as less discriminatory less prejudicial and

less pathologizing than the MMPIMMPI-2

I take the literature seriously that indicts

standard psychological tests as potentially

pathologizing caricaturing and dehumanizing as a

result of confounding culture with psychopathologyor

personality constructs More useful tests are gradually

replacing the MMPIMMPI-2 Nonetheless a vested

interest represented by substantially more than 5000

publications means that these tests will continue to be

with us for some time There is an ethical imperative

to render their continued usage less prejudicial for

millions of potential assessees

6

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

MMPI Corrections

Velasquez et al are accurate in stating that

corrections can introduce error and empirically-based

formulas have not been used to date In the absence of

such formulas however moderator variables do

constitute a call for action by attempting to reduce

surplus meaning in the term culture that can lead to

more refined estimates of the variance in MMPIMMPI-2

scale scores attributable to culture

However Velasquez et al apparently share the

conservative view demonstrated by the APA Ethics

Committees negative reaction Personal communication

Jones (2 December 1994) to my recommendation that

acculturation scales such as the ARSMAARSMA-II be

routinely applied in ethical multicultural assessment

practice (Dana 1994) These scales are referred to as

special scales by Velasquez et al and their

conservative approach to applications is acknowledged as

a disagreement but not as a source of confusion

This plea for reconsideration of the need for

special norms was not intended to void the use of the

MMPIMMPI-2 but to emphasize that eoriections for

cultural orientation status within each Hispanic

subgroup can be accomplished in this manner (eg

Arnold Montgomery Castenada amp Longoria 1994)

7

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

I appreciated the highlighting of translation

developments since my article was published I

certainly prefer to share information rather than make

pejorative judgments about the absence of such

awareness My test interpretation discussion may be

shallow but I choose to emphasize that constructive

and important research is occurring in this critical and

neglected area Anglo assessors have not been

adequately informed of the magnitude of within-group

differences and a penchant of researchers has been to

lump subjects into small self-identified or surname

groups that over include or exclude ethnic minorities

(Okazaki amp Sue 1995) The sources of relevant

culture-and-subculture-specific information need to be

available for assessors This usual suspect is a

fam~liar and formidible felon who routinely deprives

assessees of dignity and humanity

ReconstructedRestandardized Hispanic MMPI

It becomes a matter of informed opinion whether or

not new emic tests are indeed required for Hispanics and

I respect others views that differ from my own I do

not believe many new emic tests willbe forthcoming but

I must reiterate that for traditional and bicultural

persons from any non-Anglo cultural group strong

arguments for use of available emic measures can be

--------------------

8

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

made To argue that standardization and norms answer

this question for Hispanics in the MMPIMMPI-2 is absurd

in view of their underinclusion in standardization

samples

Their documentation of the frequency of MMPIMMPI-2

usage with Hispanics appears to reinforce my contention

that these tests must be rendered as fair and nonshy

discriminatory as feasible by our after-the-fact

research and interpretation efforts I applaud the

recitation of accomplishments in assessment of Hispanics

in their Tables 1 and 2 as well as the projections of

future research efforts although I wish the lists of

studies yielding these tables were available I

recently asked one of these authors for a copy of one

such unpublished compendium and it was not included with

other unrequested reprints

Unusual Suspects

Assumptions and Test Construction

Seemingly overlooked during the long life and

successful worldwide marketing of a ubiquitous MMPI is

the fact that i~ was constructed by psychologists who

shared a Eurocentric world view and culture-specific

beliefs regarding science and psychometrics Of equal

~----------------------------------------~ concern is a test construction format that has rendered

cross-cultural construct validation extremely difficurt

9

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

without resort to relating test scores to extra-test

measures of behavior (eg Timbrook amp Graham 1994) or

content measures (eg Wrobel amp Lachar 1995) As a

result translation adequacy became a primary focus of

research attention although even meticulous

translations cannot ensure measurement equivalence

(Ellis 1989) Conceptual and metric issues must

eventually assume equal importance in establishing

equivalence of measures (Brislin 1993) C~nceptual

equivalence requires similarity of meaning across

cultural groups and the distributions of scale items

should be examined for range and outliers before factor

analysis is done Metric equivalence requires an

identical metric across groups so that the meaning of

the same test scores is invariant across groups

Group Comparisons

The assessment of cultural groups in this country

has been predicated on performance comparisons of these

groups on standard psychological tests Standard

psychological tests however are emic in nature because

they represent middle-class Anglo-American culture

primarily Their method origins their ~heoretical

assumptions if any and their contents are

Euro-American To be sure standardizations do reflect

non-European origin populations in this country

10

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

sometimes by represenative sampling but rarely by

recognizing gross dissimilarities not only in social

class income and education but also in the presence of

culture-specific response sets in persons of color and

Anglo-Americans Attempts have been made to rectify

this lack of fairness by careful matching on demographic

variables assumed to affect whatever the particular test

measures For example a drastic reduction of group

difference MMPI items was obtained by carefully matching

subjects (Dahlstrom Lachar amp Dahlstrom 1986) As

members of other cultural groups become more like their

Anglo contemporaries in standardization samples the

cultural variance on that test is diminished only for

those persons rather than for the particular cultural

group

Unfortunately there is no easy solution for

standard psychological tests constructed without benefit

of contemporary psychometric sophistication It dqes

not appear feasible to redesign these tests for each

group separately in order to examine the appropriateness

of test content Nor is there professional enthusiasm

for providing new culture-specific nor~s particularly

because each cultural group has extreme within-group

differences A third option comparing scores of

cultural orientation status groups to provide a

11

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

correction is feasible (Arnold et al 1994) By

definition group comparisons are always invidious

whenever the standard of comparison is ernie Hence the

concern with cross-cultural validation research

Statistics

Helms (1992) has indicated that cultural bias may

compromise the assumptions undergirding conventional

statistics Furthermore the interpretation of the null

hypothesis has been questioned as being inappropriate

for detecting cultural bias in assessment (Malgady

1996) He suggests that a statement of bias in the form

of cross-cultural variance as the null hypothesis should

prevail until research demonstrations suggest otherwise

Recomme ations Inform Professional Assessors

In my MMPI paper I did not attempt to present a

culturally-based framework for assessing Hispanics but

merely an annotated glossary of potential corrections

and deliberately did not package this information ~n a recommendations section Velasquez et al do provide

MMPI-2MMPI-A recommendations that may be compared with

guidelines I prepared in another context for use of

projective tests with Hispanics (Table 1) (Dana 1995a)

Insert Table 1 about here

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

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RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

I appreciated the highlighting of translation

developments since my article was published I

certainly prefer to share information rather than make

pejorative judgments about the absence of such

awareness My test interpretation discussion may be

shallow but I choose to emphasize that constructive

and important research is occurring in this critical and

neglected area Anglo assessors have not been

adequately informed of the magnitude of within-group

differences and a penchant of researchers has been to

lump subjects into small self-identified or surname

groups that over include or exclude ethnic minorities

(Okazaki amp Sue 1995) The sources of relevant

culture-and-subculture-specific information need to be

available for assessors This usual suspect is a

fam~liar and formidible felon who routinely deprives

assessees of dignity and humanity

ReconstructedRestandardized Hispanic MMPI

It becomes a matter of informed opinion whether or

not new emic tests are indeed required for Hispanics and

I respect others views that differ from my own I do

not believe many new emic tests willbe forthcoming but

I must reiterate that for traditional and bicultural

persons from any non-Anglo cultural group strong

arguments for use of available emic measures can be

--------------------

8

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

made To argue that standardization and norms answer

this question for Hispanics in the MMPIMMPI-2 is absurd

in view of their underinclusion in standardization

samples

Their documentation of the frequency of MMPIMMPI-2

usage with Hispanics appears to reinforce my contention

that these tests must be rendered as fair and nonshy

discriminatory as feasible by our after-the-fact

research and interpretation efforts I applaud the

recitation of accomplishments in assessment of Hispanics

in their Tables 1 and 2 as well as the projections of

future research efforts although I wish the lists of

studies yielding these tables were available I

recently asked one of these authors for a copy of one

such unpublished compendium and it was not included with

other unrequested reprints

Unusual Suspects

Assumptions and Test Construction

Seemingly overlooked during the long life and

successful worldwide marketing of a ubiquitous MMPI is

the fact that i~ was constructed by psychologists who

shared a Eurocentric world view and culture-specific

beliefs regarding science and psychometrics Of equal

~----------------------------------------~ concern is a test construction format that has rendered

cross-cultural construct validation extremely difficurt

9

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

without resort to relating test scores to extra-test

measures of behavior (eg Timbrook amp Graham 1994) or

content measures (eg Wrobel amp Lachar 1995) As a

result translation adequacy became a primary focus of

research attention although even meticulous

translations cannot ensure measurement equivalence

(Ellis 1989) Conceptual and metric issues must

eventually assume equal importance in establishing

equivalence of measures (Brislin 1993) C~nceptual

equivalence requires similarity of meaning across

cultural groups and the distributions of scale items

should be examined for range and outliers before factor

analysis is done Metric equivalence requires an

identical metric across groups so that the meaning of

the same test scores is invariant across groups

Group Comparisons

The assessment of cultural groups in this country

has been predicated on performance comparisons of these

groups on standard psychological tests Standard

psychological tests however are emic in nature because

they represent middle-class Anglo-American culture

primarily Their method origins their ~heoretical

assumptions if any and their contents are

Euro-American To be sure standardizations do reflect

non-European origin populations in this country

10

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

sometimes by represenative sampling but rarely by

recognizing gross dissimilarities not only in social

class income and education but also in the presence of

culture-specific response sets in persons of color and

Anglo-Americans Attempts have been made to rectify

this lack of fairness by careful matching on demographic

variables assumed to affect whatever the particular test

measures For example a drastic reduction of group

difference MMPI items was obtained by carefully matching

subjects (Dahlstrom Lachar amp Dahlstrom 1986) As

members of other cultural groups become more like their

Anglo contemporaries in standardization samples the

cultural variance on that test is diminished only for

those persons rather than for the particular cultural

group

Unfortunately there is no easy solution for

standard psychological tests constructed without benefit

of contemporary psychometric sophistication It dqes

not appear feasible to redesign these tests for each

group separately in order to examine the appropriateness

of test content Nor is there professional enthusiasm

for providing new culture-specific nor~s particularly

because each cultural group has extreme within-group

differences A third option comparing scores of

cultural orientation status groups to provide a

11

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

correction is feasible (Arnold et al 1994) By

definition group comparisons are always invidious

whenever the standard of comparison is ernie Hence the

concern with cross-cultural validation research

Statistics

Helms (1992) has indicated that cultural bias may

compromise the assumptions undergirding conventional

statistics Furthermore the interpretation of the null

hypothesis has been questioned as being inappropriate

for detecting cultural bias in assessment (Malgady

1996) He suggests that a statement of bias in the form

of cross-cultural variance as the null hypothesis should

prevail until research demonstrations suggest otherwise

Recomme ations Inform Professional Assessors

In my MMPI paper I did not attempt to present a

culturally-based framework for assessing Hispanics but

merely an annotated glossary of potential corrections

and deliberately did not package this information ~n a recommendations section Velasquez et al do provide

MMPI-2MMPI-A recommendations that may be compared with

guidelines I prepared in another context for use of

projective tests with Hispanics (Table 1) (Dana 1995a)

Insert Table 1 about here

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

--------------------

8

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

made To argue that standardization and norms answer

this question for Hispanics in the MMPIMMPI-2 is absurd

in view of their underinclusion in standardization

samples

Their documentation of the frequency of MMPIMMPI-2

usage with Hispanics appears to reinforce my contention

that these tests must be rendered as fair and nonshy

discriminatory as feasible by our after-the-fact

research and interpretation efforts I applaud the

recitation of accomplishments in assessment of Hispanics

in their Tables 1 and 2 as well as the projections of

future research efforts although I wish the lists of

studies yielding these tables were available I

recently asked one of these authors for a copy of one

such unpublished compendium and it was not included with

other unrequested reprints

Unusual Suspects

Assumptions and Test Construction

Seemingly overlooked during the long life and

successful worldwide marketing of a ubiquitous MMPI is

the fact that i~ was constructed by psychologists who

shared a Eurocentric world view and culture-specific

beliefs regarding science and psychometrics Of equal

~----------------------------------------~ concern is a test construction format that has rendered

cross-cultural construct validation extremely difficurt

9

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

without resort to relating test scores to extra-test

measures of behavior (eg Timbrook amp Graham 1994) or

content measures (eg Wrobel amp Lachar 1995) As a

result translation adequacy became a primary focus of

research attention although even meticulous

translations cannot ensure measurement equivalence

(Ellis 1989) Conceptual and metric issues must

eventually assume equal importance in establishing

equivalence of measures (Brislin 1993) C~nceptual

equivalence requires similarity of meaning across

cultural groups and the distributions of scale items

should be examined for range and outliers before factor

analysis is done Metric equivalence requires an

identical metric across groups so that the meaning of

the same test scores is invariant across groups

Group Comparisons

The assessment of cultural groups in this country

has been predicated on performance comparisons of these

groups on standard psychological tests Standard

psychological tests however are emic in nature because

they represent middle-class Anglo-American culture

primarily Their method origins their ~heoretical

assumptions if any and their contents are

Euro-American To be sure standardizations do reflect

non-European origin populations in this country

10

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

sometimes by represenative sampling but rarely by

recognizing gross dissimilarities not only in social

class income and education but also in the presence of

culture-specific response sets in persons of color and

Anglo-Americans Attempts have been made to rectify

this lack of fairness by careful matching on demographic

variables assumed to affect whatever the particular test

measures For example a drastic reduction of group

difference MMPI items was obtained by carefully matching

subjects (Dahlstrom Lachar amp Dahlstrom 1986) As

members of other cultural groups become more like their

Anglo contemporaries in standardization samples the

cultural variance on that test is diminished only for

those persons rather than for the particular cultural

group

Unfortunately there is no easy solution for

standard psychological tests constructed without benefit

of contemporary psychometric sophistication It dqes

not appear feasible to redesign these tests for each

group separately in order to examine the appropriateness

of test content Nor is there professional enthusiasm

for providing new culture-specific nor~s particularly

because each cultural group has extreme within-group

differences A third option comparing scores of

cultural orientation status groups to provide a

11

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

correction is feasible (Arnold et al 1994) By

definition group comparisons are always invidious

whenever the standard of comparison is ernie Hence the

concern with cross-cultural validation research

Statistics

Helms (1992) has indicated that cultural bias may

compromise the assumptions undergirding conventional

statistics Furthermore the interpretation of the null

hypothesis has been questioned as being inappropriate

for detecting cultural bias in assessment (Malgady

1996) He suggests that a statement of bias in the form

of cross-cultural variance as the null hypothesis should

prevail until research demonstrations suggest otherwise

Recomme ations Inform Professional Assessors

In my MMPI paper I did not attempt to present a

culturally-based framework for assessing Hispanics but

merely an annotated glossary of potential corrections

and deliberately did not package this information ~n a recommendations section Velasquez et al do provide

MMPI-2MMPI-A recommendations that may be compared with

guidelines I prepared in another context for use of

projective tests with Hispanics (Table 1) (Dana 1995a)

Insert Table 1 about here

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

9

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

without resort to relating test scores to extra-test

measures of behavior (eg Timbrook amp Graham 1994) or

content measures (eg Wrobel amp Lachar 1995) As a

result translation adequacy became a primary focus of

research attention although even meticulous

translations cannot ensure measurement equivalence

(Ellis 1989) Conceptual and metric issues must

eventually assume equal importance in establishing

equivalence of measures (Brislin 1993) C~nceptual

equivalence requires similarity of meaning across

cultural groups and the distributions of scale items

should be examined for range and outliers before factor

analysis is done Metric equivalence requires an

identical metric across groups so that the meaning of

the same test scores is invariant across groups

Group Comparisons

The assessment of cultural groups in this country

has been predicated on performance comparisons of these

groups on standard psychological tests Standard

psychological tests however are emic in nature because

they represent middle-class Anglo-American culture

primarily Their method origins their ~heoretical

assumptions if any and their contents are

Euro-American To be sure standardizations do reflect

non-European origin populations in this country

10

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

sometimes by represenative sampling but rarely by

recognizing gross dissimilarities not only in social

class income and education but also in the presence of

culture-specific response sets in persons of color and

Anglo-Americans Attempts have been made to rectify

this lack of fairness by careful matching on demographic

variables assumed to affect whatever the particular test

measures For example a drastic reduction of group

difference MMPI items was obtained by carefully matching

subjects (Dahlstrom Lachar amp Dahlstrom 1986) As

members of other cultural groups become more like their

Anglo contemporaries in standardization samples the

cultural variance on that test is diminished only for

those persons rather than for the particular cultural

group

Unfortunately there is no easy solution for

standard psychological tests constructed without benefit

of contemporary psychometric sophistication It dqes

not appear feasible to redesign these tests for each

group separately in order to examine the appropriateness

of test content Nor is there professional enthusiasm

for providing new culture-specific nor~s particularly

because each cultural group has extreme within-group

differences A third option comparing scores of

cultural orientation status groups to provide a

11

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

correction is feasible (Arnold et al 1994) By

definition group comparisons are always invidious

whenever the standard of comparison is ernie Hence the

concern with cross-cultural validation research

Statistics

Helms (1992) has indicated that cultural bias may

compromise the assumptions undergirding conventional

statistics Furthermore the interpretation of the null

hypothesis has been questioned as being inappropriate

for detecting cultural bias in assessment (Malgady

1996) He suggests that a statement of bias in the form

of cross-cultural variance as the null hypothesis should

prevail until research demonstrations suggest otherwise

Recomme ations Inform Professional Assessors

In my MMPI paper I did not attempt to present a

culturally-based framework for assessing Hispanics but

merely an annotated glossary of potential corrections

and deliberately did not package this information ~n a recommendations section Velasquez et al do provide

MMPI-2MMPI-A recommendations that may be compared with

guidelines I prepared in another context for use of

projective tests with Hispanics (Table 1) (Dana 1995a)

Insert Table 1 about here

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

10

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

sometimes by represenative sampling but rarely by

recognizing gross dissimilarities not only in social

class income and education but also in the presence of

culture-specific response sets in persons of color and

Anglo-Americans Attempts have been made to rectify

this lack of fairness by careful matching on demographic

variables assumed to affect whatever the particular test

measures For example a drastic reduction of group

difference MMPI items was obtained by carefully matching

subjects (Dahlstrom Lachar amp Dahlstrom 1986) As

members of other cultural groups become more like their

Anglo contemporaries in standardization samples the

cultural variance on that test is diminished only for

those persons rather than for the particular cultural

group

Unfortunately there is no easy solution for

standard psychological tests constructed without benefit

of contemporary psychometric sophistication It dqes

not appear feasible to redesign these tests for each

group separately in order to examine the appropriateness

of test content Nor is there professional enthusiasm

for providing new culture-specific nor~s particularly

because each cultural group has extreme within-group

differences A third option comparing scores of

cultural orientation status groups to provide a

11

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

correction is feasible (Arnold et al 1994) By

definition group comparisons are always invidious

whenever the standard of comparison is ernie Hence the

concern with cross-cultural validation research

Statistics

Helms (1992) has indicated that cultural bias may

compromise the assumptions undergirding conventional

statistics Furthermore the interpretation of the null

hypothesis has been questioned as being inappropriate

for detecting cultural bias in assessment (Malgady

1996) He suggests that a statement of bias in the form

of cross-cultural variance as the null hypothesis should

prevail until research demonstrations suggest otherwise

Recomme ations Inform Professional Assessors

In my MMPI paper I did not attempt to present a

culturally-based framework for assessing Hispanics but

merely an annotated glossary of potential corrections

and deliberately did not package this information ~n a recommendations section Velasquez et al do provide

MMPI-2MMPI-A recommendations that may be compared with

guidelines I prepared in another context for use of

projective tests with Hispanics (Table 1) (Dana 1995a)

Insert Table 1 about here

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

11

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

correction is feasible (Arnold et al 1994) By

definition group comparisons are always invidious

whenever the standard of comparison is ernie Hence the

concern with cross-cultural validation research

Statistics

Helms (1992) has indicated that cultural bias may

compromise the assumptions undergirding conventional

statistics Furthermore the interpretation of the null

hypothesis has been questioned as being inappropriate

for detecting cultural bias in assessment (Malgady

1996) He suggests that a statement of bias in the form

of cross-cultural variance as the null hypothesis should

prevail until research demonstrations suggest otherwise

Recomme ations Inform Professional Assessors

In my MMPI paper I did not attempt to present a

culturally-based framework for assessing Hispanics but

merely an annotated glossary of potential corrections

and deliberately did not package this information ~n a recommendations section Velasquez et al do provide

MMPI-2MMPI-A recommendations that may be compared with

guidelines I prepared in another context for use of

projective tests with Hispanics (Table 1) (Dana 1995a)

Insert Table 1 about here

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

12

middot

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

In comparing these recommendation both sources

include attention to the clients primary language

recognition and understanding of ethnicity

acculturation relevant interpretation procedures and

awareness of the role of therapeutic assessment In

addition Velpoundsquez et al include careful attention to

the assessment setting referral questions and use of

results Standard administration procedures and use of

the complete MMPI-2 are also emphasized I suggest in

addition adherence to an acceptable service delivery

style informed concern with DSM limitations for this

population and use of culturally relevant clinical

inferences and personality conceptualizations

Although the assessment instruments differ these

sets of recommendations are clearly complementary and

are designed to serve client interests by recognizing

cultural issues and providing a credible cultural

context for the entire assessment process I appl~ud

the opportunity to juxtapose two perspectives which

demonstrate integration of assessment and cultural

knowledge into practice to dispel legitimate assessor

concerns when venturing into areas their graduate

training typically did not emphasize (Bernal amp Castro

1994) Finally knowledge of Hispanic culture assumes

equal importance with assessment technology but

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

13

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

assessor recourse to technology alone without such

contextual knowledge is a formidible obstacle to

culturally competent assessment

There is a commonground in this exchange that

should not become a battleground because of the

selectivity of facts and the unsteadiness of observers

(Wyatt 1967 p 13) Professional psychologists and

consumers of our services may all be losers when

interpretations of research assumptions and findings are

ridiculed or trivialized for ostensibly discouraging

assessors by being dated fragmentary and

contradictory

Both the usual and unusual suspects appear

worthy of intense scrutiny and full investigation by the

profe~sional assessment community I cannot believe

that conveying information to practitioners is a

turn-off as suggested by Velasquez et al To the

contrary there is a primary instructional role in

facilitating culturally competent assessment services

providing support and reassurance that their own doubts

may be countered by an informed caution in practice

believe this exchange of viewpoints is valuable to

professional assessors because Velasquez et aI and

myself share the conviction that the cross-cultural use

I

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

14

of MMPIMMPI-2 for Hispanics needs to be carefully and

publicly examined

Table 1

Guidelines for Use of Projective Tests With Hispanics

Description

Recognize huge intri~~Qup differshyences among_three major resident groups~ immigrant refugees~ and sojourners Erom 17 countries often with biracial origins

Language Always use first language of client Translatorsinterpreters create special problems Be aware of frequent preference for services in Spanish 90 are Spanish-speaking

Service Delivery Proper social etiquette mandatory Simpatia includes respeto personshyalismo platicando Confianza ~n confianza is expected

Acculturation Evaluation of acculturation status required before test selection administration Provide campes for subsequent tesi interpret+tion

Interpretation Predicated on cultural experience Clinical knowledge world vie~~ values Inference group identity seif-co~cept

healthillness beliefs language Hispanic personality theory

Interpretation Construct validation for Hispanic Test Scores popul~tions regui~ede Normative Data Separate norms are needed to

provide corrections for acculturation stamiddottus

Psychiatric Recognize DSM-IV limitations Use Diagnosis culture-specific syndromes and

cultural formulation for Hispanics

Personality Use existing sources of person-Theory ~ ali~y theoryempirical data

relevant to each Hispanic subgroup

Shared Test Recognize cultural considerations Findings in providing edb~ck to client

family

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

15

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Note-used with permission from the Spanish

Rorschach Society

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

16

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

References

Arnold B R Montgomery G T Castenada I amp

Longoria R (1994) Acculturation and performance

of Hispanics on selected Halstead-Reitan

neuropsychological tests Assessment 1 239-248

Bernal M E amp Castro P G (1994) Are clinical

psychologists prepared for service and research with

ethnic minorities Report of a decade of progress

American Psychologist 49 797-805

Brislin R W (1993) Understanding cultures

influence on behavior New York Harcourt Brace

Jovanovich

Cronbach L J (1990) Essenials of psychological

testing (5th ed) New York Harper amp Row

Dahlstrom W G Lachar D amp Dahlstrom L E

(1986) MMPI patterns of American minorities

Minneapolis MN University of Minnesota Press

Dana R H (1988) Culturally diverse groups anq MMPI

inerpretation Professional Psychology Research and

Practice ~ 490-495

Dana R H (1993) Multicultural assessment

perspectives for professional psychology Boaton

Allyn amp Bacon

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

17

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

Dana R H (1994) Testing and assessment ethics for

all persons Beginning and agenda Professional

Psychology Research and Practice 25 349-354

Dana R H (1995) Orientaciones para la evaluacibn de

hispanos en los Estados Unidos de Norteamerica

utilizando la prueba de Rorschach y el Test de

Apercepci6n Tem~tica Revista de la Sociedad del

Rorschach y Methodos Proyectivos 8 176-187

Dana R H (1995b) Culturally competent MMPI

assessment of Hispanics Hispanic Journal of

Behavioral Sciences 11 305-319

Ellis B (1989) Differential item functioning

Implications for test translations Journal of

Applied Psychology I 74 912-921

Helmes E amp Reddon J R (1993) A perspective on

developments in assessing psychopathology A critical

review of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Psychological

Bulletin 113 453-471

Helms J E (1992) Why is there no study of cultural

equivalence in standardized cognitive ability

testing American Psychologist 47 1083-1101

Jones S E (2 December 1994) Letter with summary of

actions Ad Hic Policy and Education Committee APA

Ethnic Committee

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49

- --- - - -

RESPONSE TO VELASQUEZ ET AL

18

Malgady R G (1996) The question of cultural bias

in assessment and diagnosis of ethnic minority

clients Lets reject the Null Hypothesis

professional Psychology Research and Practice 37

73-77

Okazaki S amp Sue S (1995) Methodological issues

in assessment research with ethnic minorities

Psychological Assessment 1 367-375

Timbrook R E amp Graham J R (1994) Ethnic

differences on the the MMPI-2 Psychological

Assessment Q 212-217

Velasquez R J Butcher J N Garrido M amp Cabiya

J J Danas culturally competent MMPI asseseement

of Hispanics A case of rounding up the usual

suspects Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Wrobel N H amp Lachar D (1995) Racial differences

in adolescent self-report A comparative validity

study using homogeneous MMPI content measures

Psychological Assessment 1 140-147

Wyatt F K (1967) How objective is objectivity

Reflections on the scope and limitations of a basic

tenet in the study of personality Journal of

Projective Techniques and Personality Assessment ll

3-19

-----~------------

• Silk Purse or Sows Ear An MMPI Commonground
• • Let us know how access to this document benefits you
  • Citation Details
  • • tmp1392415052pdf4ub49