Professionally responsible test selection for Spanish-speaking clients: A four-step approach for identifying and selecting translated tests.

Abstract

As the Spanish-speaking population grows in the United States, the number of psychologists asked to conduct psychological evaluations of Spanish-speaking clients is likely to increase. Although Spanishlanguage translations of many psychological tests are being sold by major test publishing companies, many of these tests have little or no research supporting their use with Spanish-speaking U.S. residents. Psychologists must carefully consider the level of research support for translated tests before using them with Spanish-speaking clients. This article provides a 4-step approach to assist practitioners in making professionally responsible decisions about using translated tests. The authors provide an example of this approach by reviewing the current state of research support for translated tests designed to assess personality and psychopathology in adults.

Assessment of Autism in Community Settings: Discrepancies in Classification

“…Often assessors utilize measures that are not well validated for the population, or tools are translated from English without regard for the inherent loss of psychometric properties; many translated tests have little to no research supporting their use with Spanish-speaking U.S. residents (Fernandez et al 2007). Translated tests may neglect to ensure that an item has psychological as well as linguistic equivalence (Butcher 2004).…”

Bilingual school psychologists' assessment practices with English language learners

“…A third challenge faced when performing psychoeducational assessments is selecting measures appropriate for use with ELLs (Fernandez, Boccaccini, & Noland, 2007). It is often difficult to find instruments with norms representative of an ELL examinee.…”

Internal Consistency and Convergent Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory English and European-Spanish Version with English/Spanish Bilinguals

“…For example, individuals who primarily speak or prefer Spanish should be administered assessments written in and validated with Spanish-speakers. Fernandez, Boccaccini, and Noland (2007) recommend that practitioners should consider which translated tests are available, identify relevant research regarding the tests’ administration and interpretation, evaluate the research relevant to the clients’ background, and assess their own level of confidence that the tests are appropriate for use with specific clients. In the United States, these guidelines are difficult to follow in practice because practitioners have limited options regarding multiscale inventories that are translated and validated with Spanish-speakers.…”

“…In the United States, these guidelines are difficult to follow in practice because practitioners have limited options regarding multiscale inventories that are translated and validated with Spanish-speakers. Further, there is only a small body of research to reference on this topic (Fernandez et al, 2007; Weiss & Rosenfeld, 2012).…”