South Africa is a country in which economic resources are not evenly distributed. Due to this economic imbalance, many people in South Africa do not have the income, education level, and/or literacy level to participate in psychological assessments. Administrative resources are also impacted by this economic imbalance. The lack of administrative resources can be seen in the forms of psychological assessments that are only accessible in English, practitioners who only speak English, reduced test materials, and a scarcity of experts who are familiar with developing new assessments for the multicultural South African population.
Ideally emic assessments (culturally and linguistically specific to a particular context) would be used to address issues regarding ethics and assessment administration in this population, but due cost and the time it takes to create assessments, this is not always possible. Lauher and Cockcroft (2017), give practitioners a list of previously administered psychological assessments and techniques on how to be culturally responsive in order to prevent bias and keep the integrity of the assessment process.
Lauher and Cockcroft (2017) suggest using more qualitative, narrative and contextual approaches to complement the traditional assessment process. They also begin their article with discussing emic approaches to assessment. An example of this would be the South African Personality Inventory (Valchev et al., 2014). This Personality Inventory was developed by conducting interviews with South Africans to obtain personality descriptors from the country’s official languages.
This process is significant because it shows how to develop a locally relevant instrument that can be administered to a multicultural population. Additionally, the Cross-Cultural Personality Inventory-2 (Cheung et al., 2008) is another emic example that provides insight on the importance of considering communal aspects of personality, which is not discussed on western personality inventories.
Furthermore, Lauher and Cockcroft (2017) recommend using a less structured model when working in low resourced, multicultural settings in order to compensate clients who have educational and linguistic adversity. Examples of this can be seen by using the Recognition of Prior Learning strategy (RPL; Anderson, 2006). RPL uses a portfolio method to determine if a person’s life experiences and skills deem them eligible for a particular qualification.
While this method cannot replace psychometric assessments, it can be used to gain an additional understanding of a person and their capabilities. RPL helps people who lack financial and educational opportunities, by having their life experiences significantly measured in the assessment process. The article also discusses ways in which practitioners should deal with low English proficiency. Practitioners should give more nonverbal assessments to clients who display low levels of proficiency in English. Additionally, practitioners are encouraged to extend the length of practice time participants with linguistic disadvantages receive during psychological assessments, as long as they document the modification on the assessment report.
Culturally responsive practitioners know a variety of assessments and techniques. They also know how to use them in a flexible manner. Focusing on narratives and meaning making is more beneficial then focusing on test scores and norms for multicultural South African populations. These processes should be used in addition to standardized assessments to present a complete picture of individuals and their behaviors. Limitations to some of the assessments and techniques listed in the article include the heavy dependence on the practitioner’s experience and ethical practice.
Additionally, there are restrictions in using translators who are not competent in psychological assessment. Consequently, there is a need for more individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds in all training and decision-making processes (Suzuki & Ponterotto, 2007). The authors note that further investigation is needed in South Africa and similar countries outside of south Africa. This effort will help to gather more information on how to deal with issues regarding multiculturalism.
Laugher and Cockroft (2017) address issues regarding cultural factors, such as language, income level, and education level. As we discussed in class, language can create issues within assessment because if clients are unable to understand the assessment their results will not be valid. This could potentially lead to a client being misdiagnosed or placed in a category that misrepresents their actual abilities. Also, if a client cannot understand an assessment linguistically, this then raises ethical concerns about the practitioner. Practitioners should always create an atmosphere of fairness when administering assessments.
Giving an English assessment to a non-English would not be fair because the client is not receiving the same treatment as the English speaker. Low levels of income and education can limit a client’s ability to interpret assessment items due to lack of exposure. It can also limit client’s familiarity with assessment materials, such as computer-based assessment. Low levels of income and education could also present issues with validity due to the listed reasons.
Practitioners need to be aware of issues regarding multiculturalism because it can affect the way in which they interact with their clients. If clients are unable to understand the language of an assessment, then practitioners should accommodate the client by using nonverbal assessments or looking for a translated version of the assessments.
If clients are from low income backgrounds or have limited education levels, practitioners should use the clients out of office experiences to complement the psychological assessments they administer. Practitioners should also make sure to document all adjustments made for clients due to cultural differences. Practitioners may want to use a variety of assessments to help draw a more accurate picture of the client and modify interpretations of assessments based on the client’s challenges.
One issue I can see arising in clinical work in practitioners is dealing with their own implicit and explicit biases. One way to deal with practitioner bias is to be honest with yourself as a practitioner and explore your own thoughts about other cultures. Also, speak to your supervisor about areas with you feel bias towards certain groups or have a lack of knowledge. Also, take time to research about multicultural populations and challenge yourself to work with those population in order to learn. Another issues I can see arrsing in regards to multiculturalism is practioners having difficulty connecting with clients.
Also be patient with yourself as a practioner and do not try to rush to learn everything about a multicultural group in one sitting. Be prepared to spend a life time learning about different cultural groups. Pratcioner should embrace multiculturalism as a lifestyle and not as something they are just learning about for the day. Practioners should also ultize their clients. Talk to your clients about they challenges, likes, dislikes regarding assessments. Constantly check in with your clients and their abilities and level of comfort.
