The Assessment of Psychopathology in Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Abstract

As accurate assessment is critical to diagnosis and treatment, understanding the association between race or ethnicity and the assessment of psychopathology has important practical significance. However, detecting and mitigating racial bias in assessment is a profoundly complex challenge. This article examines several conceptual issues germane to assessing minority groups in the United States, and reviews efforts to address ethnic and racial bias in frequently used adult-assessment instruments. It discusses ethnic identity and acculturation, assessment of psychopathology by means of the clinical interview and psychological testing, self-epressive assessment of psychopathology using projective tests, the Rorschach inkblot test, picture-story tests, and sentence completion and figure-drawing tests.

Ethnic differences among adolescents beginning treatment for depression.

“…However, cultural groups may exhibit different symptoms for the same underlying disorder (Gray-Little, 2002). Differences in symptom presentation may result in ethnically diverse groups being under-or over-diagnosed as the current DSM-IV criteria may not be equally applicable across groups (Stewart, 2008).…”

“…The current understanding of adolescent depressive disorders has been developed primarily with Caucasian samples, and these models have then been applied to ethnically diverse communities without examining their validity (Stewart, 2008). However, cultural groups may exhibit different symptoms for the same underlying disorder (Gray-Little, 2002). Differences in symptom presentation may result in ethnically diverse groups being under or overdiagnosed as the current DSM-IV criteria may not be equally applicable across groups (Stewart, 2008).…”

“…The field of clinical psychology has become increasingly interested in understanding ethnic differences in assessment and diagnosis (Gray-Little, 2002), and in whether the current empirically supported treatments (ESTs) are appropriate for ethnically diverse communities (Bernal & Scharron Del Rio, 2006). However, no previous studies have investigated whether ethnically diverse youth differ in symptom presentation upon entering treatment for depressive disorders, and ethnic differences may have implications for the assessment of depression in ethnically diverse youth.…”

Asian Student Depression in American High Schools

“…Though cultural groups can show different symptoms for depression (Gray-Little, 2002), many studies of adolescent depression use primarily Caucasian samples (Stewart, 2008). Asian youth, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as any person with origins in the ''Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent'' (Humes, Jones, & Ramirez, 2011) are a fast growing segment of the U.S. population, but there is limited research on their mental health.…”

Personality Assessment with the MMPI‐2: Historical Roots, International Adaptations, and Current Challenges

“…Much has been written in the US about cultural factors that can affect psychological assessment and how to use the MMPI‐2 with minorities (e.g. Butcher, Cabiya, Lucio, & Garrido, 2007; Garrido & Velasquez, 2006; Gray‐Little, in press; Hall, Bansal, & Lopez, 1999; Hays, 2001). In addition to the translations of the MMPI‐2 in other countries, there are several versions of the instrument for use with non‐English speaking people living in the US, including Vietnamese (Tran, 1996), Hmong from Laos (Deinard, Butcher, Thao, Vang, & Hang, 1996), and Spanish (Butcher et al., 2007).…”