A Validation of Scores Across Ethnic Groups

In the last ten years, a rise in multicultural awareness has spurred examinations of the validity and reliability of scores on psychological scales used to measure personality and intellectual factors for populations of varying ethnicities (e.g., Butcher, 1996). In an effort to consider linguistic and cultural differences that might affect the validity of these measures with different populations, the use of these instruments with non-Caucasian clients must be evaluated (Butcher, Nezami, & Exner, 1998). This is of the utmost concern when using scores on these measures for clinical decisions, such as diagnosis, treatment planning, or planning of services. Many of the standard psychological assessment instruments have been normed using primarily European-American clients, resulting in scores on these tests being culturally appropriate primarily for Caucasian, English-speaking individuals, with a Western world view (Dana, 1995). In the last 20 years, many tests, such as the MMPI, Millon Clinical Multi-axial Inventory, and the Rorschach, have been re-examined to assess for validity in cross-cultural and ethnically diverse settings (e.g., Butcher, Braswell, & Raney, 1983; Davis, Greenblatt, & Dahlstrom, 1990; Eysenck & Eysenck