Assessment of Diverse and Minority Populations - Considerations in Assessment Training (1.5 CEs)

Graduate training in personality assessment indelibly includes the consideration of diversity-related issues. Various models attempt to reconcile how diverse factors play into personality and mental health more broadly, such as the ADDRESSING model (Hays, 1996, 2008), intersectionality theories (Crenshaw, 1989), and Minority-Stress Model (Meyer, 2003). Furthermore, the call for inclusive, culturally sensitive practices in assessment training has grown stronger in recent years, leading to an increase in evidence-based best practices for psychological assessment with members of diverse racial and ethnic populations (Suzuki & Wilton, 2016), gender and sexual minority individuals (Smith & Krishnamurthy,2018), and individuals with disabilities (APA, 2011). Nonetheless, strategies for applying these models to personality assessment remain limited. Thus, some salient considerations of training include considering how racial and ethnic minority, gender and sexual minority, and disabled identity status may impact the assessment process (Brabender & Mihura, 2016). For instance, how should cultural biases and the absence of multicultural norms of assessment be addressed? How should gendered test norms be implemented with transgender or non-binary clients? Should assessors disclose their minority status in the evaluation of diverse clients? SPA Graduate Student (SPAGS) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee is organizing a roundtable discussion, where panelists will share personal and professional knowledge that they have gained related to these questions and more. This discussion aims to guide attendees in understanding how clients’ diverse identities and minority statuses can influence the assessment process and what steps we can take to be culturally aware and competent assessors.

Chair

A. Esin Asan | The Pennsylvania State University

Discussant Panelist

Radhika Krishnamurthy, PhD | Florida Institute of Technology 

Panelist