Forensic Assessment with the African American Client

Abstract

The field of forensic assessment is vast. In this chapter we focused our attention child custody evaluations, the assessment of competency in legal proceedings, and the assessment of capacity. We also reviewed the literature on the use of polygraphy with African American clients and offered a discussion on the assessment procedures in personal injury. Our review of the literature revealed that research specific to African Americans on the tests and measures discussed throughout this chapter is largely lacking. To this end, where appropriate, a theoretical perspective was taken and recommendations that were either empirically based or theoretically derived are provided. As the stakes in forensic assessment are high, it is important that results from psychological tests be compared to other sources of data so that the results can either be confirmed or refuted. The clinician should also note weaknesses in the tests and interpret results with caution as needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved)