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IQ Testing and the Hispanic Client

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Guide to Psychological Assessment with Hispanics

Abstract

Intellectual assessment remains a routine part of the psychodiagnostic and neuropsychological evaluation. Since their inception, IQ tests have been scrutinized for their cross-cultural generalizability, including with Hispanic populations. This is a critical issue as it has become increasingly apparent that IQ scores are highly susceptible to environmental influences, including years of education and socioeconomic status. Furthermore, IQ scores have been found to be heavily influenced by acculturation and language proficiency. These issues are particularly pertinent for Hispanic clients, who are often first- or second-generation immigrants who speak English as a second language. This chapter reviews and discusses the limitations of current IQ tests as they apply to Hispanic populations and provides general guidelines for clinicians when they administer these tests to Hispanic clients. Some recently published IQ tests show greater cross-cultural applicability for Hispanics as they are either less reliant on verbal ability or were normed and standardized for Spanish-speaking populations. Recommendations for these and other IQ tests are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy, 455030, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA

    Nicholas S. Thaler M.A. & Sharon Jones-Forrester Ph.D.

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  1. Nicholas S. Thaler M.A.
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  2. Sharon Jones-Forrester Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Nicholas S. Thaler M.A. .

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  1. , Department of Psychology, MS 0296, University of Nevada, Reno, North Virginia Street, Reno, 89557, Nevada, USA

    Lorraine T. Benuto

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Thaler, N.S., Jones-Forrester, S. (2013). IQ Testing and the Hispanic Client. In: Benuto, L. (eds) Guide to Psychological Assessment with Hispanics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4412-1_6

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