Assessment, Cultural Validity of

Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel

The validity of research with subcultural groups or individuals identifying themselves as members of different ethnic groups is often compromised by the use of measures developed on samples of European Americans. Less well recognized is that validity of individual assessments is also limited by the use of instruments standardized on samples that are not representative of the diversity of the American population. No cultural group is homogeneous. Each new cultural group contributes to the American experience in different ways. Thus, assessment suffers when instruments are standardized on samples with restricted cultural diversity. The dynamic contextualism that is at the heart of applied developmental science suggests several ways of exploring and improving the cultural validity of developmental assessments. This entry briefly identifies factors applied developmental scientists must consider when constructing or selecting culturally valid instruments for use. In examining the validity of developmental assessments for subcultural groups, researchers may be tempted ...

Users without subscription are not able to see the full content on this title. Please, subscribe or login to access all content on this website.