The Assessment Methods - Research Paper Example

? Psychological Report Mr. John Smith has been referred by the Mission Group for evaluation to determine his suitability and appropriateness of his participation in a mission trip to rural Cambodia. The trip to Cambodia will entail an excursion to the most remote villages in Cambodia with a team of 10 other participants. The living conditions during this field trip will be characterized by extreme and adverse environmental conditions that are likely to make life difficult to say the least. The trip will require the participants to summon up their emotional and physical strengths in order to be able to cope with demanding task of the mission. Assessment Methods The assessment methods that were administered included the following: Examinee Biography IPIP-NEO assessment Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS). Clinical Anxiety Scales (CAS). Examinee Biography Mr. John Smith is 32-year-old married African male who works as a nurse in a private hospital. He lives with his wife and two children in a suburban neighborhood in the outskirts of their township. Mr. Smith is of normal height about 5.8 feet and he is slightly overweight, but he looks younger than his 32 years. He is a very outgoing and sociable individual who remained attentive during the initial interview. He values and enjoys performing his work to the best of his abilities, which gives him a sense of pride in competently accomplishing his tasks well. His family relations do not appear to have any conflict. If there is conflict, it does not seem to have a profound effect on him in any discernible manner. This conclusion is supported by his report that he gets along fairly well with all members of his family. His outside friendships are not very close and he prefers the company of people he is familiar with than with total strangers. Mr. Smith discloses that he suffers from diabetes, which he successfully manages with medication. His overweight condition slightly affects his mobility and levels of energy, and he has recently started taking antidepressant medication under his physician’s directions. This is reportedly due to his diabetic condition which he thinks he inherited from his father, and thus at risk of transmitting to his son. Summary of Test Results IPIP – NEO. The IPIP – NEO is an assessment procedure used to estimate an individual’s level of each of the 5 broad personality trait domains, and 30 sub-subdomains of the Five-Factor Model(Corcoran & Fischer, 2006).It consists of 300 items. Answers are provided according to a 5-point Likert-type scale. The numerical scores represent a percentile estimate above other subjects of the same sex and age. Scores lower than 30 for a trait or sub-domain are characterized as “low”, scores between 30 and 70 are identified as “average”, and scores above that are labeled “high”. The following chart reports Mrs. Generic’s IPIP-NEO scores. Extraversion 90 Agreeableness 87 Conscientiousness 98 Neuroticism 16 Openness to Experience 7 Friendliness 98 Trust 33 Self-Efficacy 93 Anxiety 5 Imagination 1 Gregariousness 91 Morality 93 Orderliness 94 Anger 34 Artistic Interest 10 Assertiveness 87 Altruism 93 Dutifulness 83 Depression 6 Emotionality 64 Activity Level 49 Cooperation 67 Achievement-Striving 97 Self-Consciousness 8 Adventurousness 34 Excitement-Seeking 38 Modesty 79 Self-discipline 96 Immoderation 99 Intellect 22 Cheerfulness 91 Sympathy 84 Cautiousness 76 Vulnerability 5 Liberalism 8 Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) The SQ is a 92-item instrument for measuring four aspects of psychopathology: depression, anxiety, somatization, and anger-hostility (Corcoran & Fischer, 2006). Subjects respond to a descriptive word or phrase with true/false and yes/no answers. Mr. Smith’s score was 6 on the relaxation component of the anxiety/relaxed sub-scale, which was above average compared with the non-clinical sample. His score was five for the depression/contented sub-scale, reflecting that he compared with the average of the non-clinical sample. Mr. Smith’s score of seven for the somatic/somatic well-being sub-scale was slightly above average for the clinical sample. His score of seven on the hostility/friendly sub-scale was slightly above the non-clinical sample mean for the friendly component. Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS) The DASS is a 42-item instrument that measures depression, anxiety, and stress within the past week prior to its administration (Corcoran & Fischer, 2006). Each scale is composed of 14 primary symptoms. Subjects respond to statements on a four point Likert-type scale according to the degree to which that statement was experienced. Mr. Smith’s depression and anxiety scores were well below the mean for the non-clinical samples, 2 and 1 respectively. His score of 13 for the stress sub-scale was elevated for the non-clinical sample, but compared far below the average of the clinical sample. Clinical Anxiety Scale (CAS) The CAS is a 25-item instrument that measures the degree of clinical anxiety. Higher scores indicate increased anxiety. This instrument has a clinical cutoff score of 30 (+5). Mr. Smith’s score was 18. Psychological Impression Mr. Smith is a friendly, outgoing person. He is verbally expressive, and has a rich vocabulary. He is open, cooperative, and capable of interacting with others in a socially appropriate manner. He views herself as genuinely caring, responsible, and friendly. Mr. Smith is internally motivated and guided by his Christian faith. External motivation stems from his extraverted personality. He prefers to be in the company of others and finds extended time alone emotionally difficult. He values actions of service toward others. He enjoys helping others and offering support to those with physical needs. This should make him an asset to the mission team. Results of the IPIP-NEO (Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism domains), the SQ (Depression, Anxiety, and Anger-Hostility sub-scales), the DASS (Depression and Anxiety sub-scales), and the CAS (Anxiety scale) support that Mr. John Smith is generally extraverted, suggests that he enjoys new social settings, and that his life is not greatly hindered by depression or anxiety. He is likely to express a positive mood and enthusiasm that is encouraging to those around him. He seems to be an agreeable individual who is considerate of others and values group harmony. Mr. Smith finds interpersonal conflict more difficult to manage than environmental stressors. He may also easily feel intimidated by others and adopt a passive stance when faced with conflictual situations. He is relatively free of depression and anxiety and is likely to maintain a sense of emotional stability and calmness even in challenging environments. This is supported by the results of the SQ (Anxiety/Relaxed and Depression/Contented sub-scales), the DASS (Depression and Anxiety sub-scales), and the CAS (Depression and Anxiety scales). Mr. Smith’s level of emotional reactivity is low indicating that he may possess personal resources that allow him to effectively cope with stressful situations. Mr. Smith tends to be calm and able to regulate his emotions. He is not adverse to adventurous activities, which indicates that Mr. Smith may be reasonably comfortable with the unfamiliar conditions involved in an environment as might be expected on the mission trip. His unusually high score on the Neuroticism (Immoderation sub-domain) of the IPIP-NEO reflects that Mr. Smith has difficulty resisting some cravings and urges. This was consistent with information gathered during the initial interview, wherein Mr. Smith reported he has difficulty controlling his eating habits. This appears to be constrained to that aspect of his life; otherwise, he reports an organized and disciplined existence. Mr. Smith scored slightly above the average of the clinical sample on the SQ (Somatic/Somatic Well-Being sub-scale). This may be explained as Mr. Smith reported experiencing numerous and chronic physical complaints related to obesity, hypothyroidism, and diabetes. He indicated that his physical complaints have basis in medically verified physical conditions.The elevated score on the DASS (Stress sub-scale) is indicative of situational stressors of the past week (Willig, 2012). Affecting this score may be that Mr. Smith reports he has experienced elevated blood sugar levels, which worsened his diabetes, because he had to be rushed to the emergency room for specialized treatment. Mr. Smith reports that his son made the emergency call, and this could have affected him both psychologically and emotionally. From the psychological assay made on Mr. Smith as a potential candidate for the overseas mission to Cambodia, the results are a positive indication that h fits to purpose. The environment in continental Asia might prove to be a handful for Mr. Smith especially when it comes to controlling his eating habits because there is likely going to be food shortages. This will be a measure of his resilience against such adverse conditions. The diabetic condition might exacerbate his coping mechanisms or even put him at a disadvantage but as earlier reported, he has been able to medically manage it for years. This coupled with other secondary factors might prove to be challenge for him, but it is expected that all the other participants will undergo the similar difficulties albeit differently form one person to the other. There are numerous psychological tests that can be applied to evaluate a person’s suitability for such a trip, but the ones utilized in this case address all the vital aspects necessary. The IPIP-NEO assessment is a classic example of how a psychological evaluating tool can be effectively applied in various areas of determining an individual’s character. The other evaluating tools used were efficient and effective in establishing the intended parameters that were to be used to make relevant conclusions and inferences about the individual (Oxford University Press, 2010). Conclusions and Recommendations Mr. Smith is a 45-year-old male who was referred for evaluation concerning his appropriateness for participation in a mission trip to a challenging environment. He is married with 2 children and is employed as a nurse in a private hospital. Mr. Smith was provided with a battery of psychological assessments, which included the Examinee Biography, IPIP-NEO, Symptom Questionnaire (SQ), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS), & the Clinical Anxiety Scale (CAS) (Barker, Pistrag & Elliot, 2002). Based on the results of the assessments, it is the conclusion of this examiner that Mr. Smith is an acceptable candidate for participation in the mission trip for the following reasons: a) Mr. Smith possesses personal qualities that will support his adaptation to the challenging mission environment and participation on the mission team. b) Mr. Smith is not unduly encumbered by anxious or depressive conditions that would be heightened by the challenging mission environment. c) Mr. Smith is likely to engage positively with the mission team in a mutually beneficial relationship. References Barker, C., Pistrag, N. & Elliot, R. (2002).Research Methods in Clinical Psychology: An Introduction for Students and Practitioners.New York: John Wiley & Sons. Corcoran, K. & Fischer, J. (2006).Measures for Clinical Practice and Research: a Sourcebook.London: Oxford Usa Trade. Oxford University Press. (2010). Social Work Research Methods: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide.London: Oxford University Press. Willig, C. (2012). Qualitative Interpretation and Analysis in Psychology.New York: McGraw- Hill International. Read More