Assessing for Personality Disorders in the African American Client

Abstract

This chapter will focus on the major PD assessment instruments that have been empirically evaluated for their valid use with African Americans. First, sociocultural issues unique to African Americans will be discussed, with particular attention paid to those issues that impact the presentation and perception of PD. Next, the concept of PD and classification will be explained along with an overview of assessment tools available, including self-report measures and semi-structured interviews. Following a discussion of test bias evaluation methods, the major PD assessments with established psychometric studies in African American samples and those assessments that show promise for use with this group will be reviewed. This review will be the main focus of the chapter and will include major findings on the validity, reliability, bias, and utility of these instruments. Finally, recommendations regarding PD assessment with African Americans for both clinical and research fields will conclude the chapter. At this point, we also wish to point out that although there has been significant advances in the assessment of PD in children and adolescents over the last decade, the current chapter will focus exclusively on PD assessment in adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)