Personality/Psychopathology Research of Instruments and Scales using Multicultural Sensitivity (PRISMS)

The PRISMS research group was formed to serve as a proving ground for new measures of normal and abnormal personality and the examination of current instruments using a multicultural perspective. This includes devising entirely new instruments, adapting current instruments for use with potentially underserved populations, and developing new scales to measure previously untapped constructs within populations as either stand-alone instruments or as additions to be incorporated into current personality measures.

Most recently, the group, led by Douglas Strohmer, APA Fellow and test designer, developed new norms for the Strong Interest Inventory to differentiate the specialty of counseling psychology from other psychology professions. The success of this research has led to the creation of another project involving the use of the Strong Interest Inventory to determine the person-environment fit of collegiate athletes with their respective team. This could provide coaches and players with a better understanding of the “work” environment and “job” responsibilities created by the coach for the team and how the players’ interest and personalities match up with that environment and their teammates. The results of this project could aid in generating new recruiting patterns within athletics through the use of objective data. 

Currently, the group is in the process of redesigning a test of psychopathology for use within the prison population, a screener for concurrent substance abuse and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) within the substance abuse population, and a test to determine the profile of a successful college athlete. An important focus in the development process is the examination of diversity and cultural factors among test takers, and the impact these factors have upon test results, potential classifications, and diagnoses.

A major benefit of our efforts is we are able to potentially recognize populations and subsets of populations that are not receiving needed psychological services, or the opportunity to follow a path that will provide the most growth and fulfillment.

Our current research within the penal system has led us to some intriguing results that suggest a) PTSD goes largely un-assessed among inmates, and b) the magnitude of risk of suicide in inmates with PTSD may have been grossly underestimated. We submitted our findings for presentation to APA in August of 2013, and anticipate publishing our results in the early part of 2013.