Psychologists have a duty of care to provide accurate evaluation results for the clients they serve. This expectation also includes communicating the results and related treatment recommendations in ...an understandable manner for the referred client, as well as those involved in their care. Despite these obligations, psychologists generally produce reports that are not as helpful as they could be. Consumers of psychological reports (e.g., parents, teachers, third parties, etc.) find reports to be difficult to understand and not very useful. The limited research on psychological report writing available shows considerable variability among clinicians and many issues contributing to poor readability and overall quality (e.g., generic recommendations, jargon, focus on test scores, time involved, etc.). Thus, psychologists could be doing more to uphold their professional and ethical responsibilities to write understandable, meaningful, and useful reports; however, there is little indication of improvement in any of these areas over the past few decades. As such, we aim to highlight psychologists' professional and ethical obligations to encourage growth. In this review, we discuss the current issues in psychological report writing, possible contributing factors, and the ethical principles involved in report writing. We also offer recommendations for psychologists and professional psychology training programs who wish to improve their practices in this core domain of professional practice.
Public Significance Statement
This review article outlines current practice issues in psychological assessment reports and highlights psychologists' ethical obligations to encourage change. Additionally, research-based recommendations are provided for psychologists and professional psychology training programs to improve their report-writing practices.
Common Flaws in Forensic Reports Brodsky, Stanley L.; Pope, Kenneth S.
Professional psychology, research and practice,
12/2023, Letnik:
54, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Flawed forensic psychological reports can create unfortunate, sometimes harmful, consequences, including (a) misinforming and misleading judges and juries; (b) blocking people who have been wronged ...from justice and vindication; (c) depriving people who have done nothing wrong of their savings, their business, their home, their children, their liberty, or their lives; and (d) allowing those who have done wrong to escape justice. This article discusses six common categories of flawed forensic psychological reports and presents seven steps to avoid writing flawed reports.
Public Significance Statement
Forensic mental health reports and testimony can play an important role in court decisions in both civil and criminal cases. This article identifies common problems in the nature of such reports and offers remedial suggestions to improve their clarity, usefulness, and readability.
Decades of research have strongly advocated for crafting effective psychological reports in a manner that presents information at a lower reading level, organizes content by functional domain, and ...communicates results in a client-centered manner. However, psychological reports remain challenging for nonpsychologists to comprehend. Extensive research indicates that service users (e.g., patients, parents, and teachers) perceive these reports as overly technical, difficult to understand, and lacking utility. One identified contributor to these challenges is the training practices within professional psychology programs. Despite considerable research on test administration and scoring errors, there has been limited investigation into the development of report writing practices among graduate students. This study represents the first examination of graduate students’ psychological report writing skills within a professional psychology program. Utilizing quantitative content analysis, 63 psychological reports authored by graduate students were analyzed to identify commonalities and disparities in writing style and content. In addition, the study explored relationships between specific characteristics of report writing, such as presentation style, integration, and readability, within the framework of best practices. The findings indicate that students do not write accessible or integrated reports. The choice of formatting and the use of active voice may play a role in enhancing integration and readability. Therefore, these aspects should be considered when instructing students on report presentation. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to psychologists, educators, and students undergoing training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
EJPA Introduces Registered Reports as New Submission Format Greiff, Samuel; Allen, Mark S
European journal of psychological assessment : official organ of the European Association of Psychological Assessment,
2018, Letnik:
34, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Registered Reports (RR) are a relatively new method of manuscript submission that helps to eliminate questionable research practices such as p-hacking and HARKing and aligns scientific values and ...practices by completing the peer review process before results are known. RRs also help to protect authors from questionable review practices that contribute to publication bias. Psychological assessment research typically involves hypothesis testing and is therefore susceptible to the same questionable research practices that plague experimental research. However, psychological assessment research differs somewhat from standard experimental studies in that there will not always be a dichotomous accept/reject of hypotheses. In the RR format, the researcher simply needs to state beforehand the criteria that will be used to formulate conclusions. RRs are the next logical step towards improving research transparency and accountability. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
The present study evaluated the criterion validity and practical utility of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3) scores in preemployment evaluations of police candidates (n = 377) ...and candidates for other public safety occupations (n = 276) in the Midwestern United States. Preemployment psychological reports were used to rate problems in the ten California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training screening dimensions (POST-10 dimensions). MMPI-3 T score means and standard deviations indicated that substantive scale scores were generally lower and less variable relative to the normative sample. MMPI-3 scores were meaningfully associated with problems in the POST-10 dimensions with similar patterns as past research but with generally larger effect sizes (likely due, in part, to criterion contamination). Relative risk ratio (RRR) findings supported the practical utility of interpretive guidelines described in the MMPI-3 Police Candidate Interpretive Report interpretive manual. Results are discussed in terms of the wider MMPI-2-RF literature in police officer preemployment evaluations.
Public Significance Statement
This study provided evidence supporting the criterion validity of MMPI-3 scores in public safety officer preemployment evaluations. Results were consistent with previous studies using the MMPI-2-RF and expanded on that literature by including comparisons of MMPI-3 scores across men and women and across police candidates and other public safety candidates.
According to the national census, approximately a fifth of the adult population in the United States uses a language other than English in their home. Less precise information is available regarding ...the language preferences of children and adolescents, D/deaf individuals, and other individuals in the United States who are not represented in national surveys. The field of psychology has increasingly acknowledged and addressed the lived experiences of culturally and linguistically minoritized individuals in the United States through relevant research and clinical practice guidelines. As a result, more accessible and equitable practices for psychological assessments have been developed when working with linguistically minoritized clients. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of information in the extant literature regarding drafting psychological assessment reports for linguistically minoritized clients. This article explores the ethical and professional responsibilities of psychologists when engaged in this work and provides proposed practices for drafting and delivering accessible assessment reports for linguistically minoritized clients. Recommendations are provided regarding how psychologists can share the results of an assessment with a referral source using written English and also support a client in accessing the information in their primary language.
Public Significance Statement
Psychologists have ethical and professional responsibilities to consider the primary language and culture of their clients when conducting psychological assessments, including when drafting the final assessment report. This article discusses these issues and provides proposed practices for drafting assessment reports for clients from linguistically minoritized groups to ensure each client has appropriate and equitable access to the results of their psychological assessments.
Available reporting guidelines for prognostic and diagnostic accuracy studies apply primarily to biological assessment and outcomes, overlooking behavioral issues with major public health and safety ...implications such as violence. The present study aimed to develop the first set of reporting guidance for predictive validity studies of violence risk assessments: the Risk Assessment Guidelines for the Evaluation of Efficacy (RAGEE) Statement. A systematic search of 8 electronic databases prior to September 2012 identified 279 reporting guidelines for prognostic and diagnostic accuracy studies. Unique items were extracted and modified to make them relevant to risk assessment. A 4-wave Delphi process involving a multidisciplinary team of 37 international experts resulted in a 50-item reporting checklist. The panelists endorsed the RAGEE Statement checklist as being highly satisfactory and as indicating study features that should be reported routinely in manuscripts. Use of these proposed standards has the potential to improve the quality of the risk assessment literature.
This review summarizes primary studies on teachers’ preferences and perceptions of the psychological report. A systematic search identified 19 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. These studies ...were evaluated in terms of (a) psychological report section focus, (b) methodology, (c) research results, (d) discussion, and (e) recommendations. Across the 19 studies, 1,309 general and special education teachers indicated and rated their preferences and perceptions of the psychological report. In terms of the entire psychological report and especially the report recommendations, teachers preferred longer, descriptive, and more detailed reports. Teachers preferred reports that provided enough detail to aid in individualized education planning and recommendation and intervention implementation. Teachers also preferred reports written in integrated theme‐based formats as opposed to test‐by‐test formats. Teachers rated the level of detail and degree of psychological jargon used in reports as currently unsatisfactory. This review summarizes teacher preferences and identifies report features that aid in report comprehension and also provides a research basis from which to inform training and practice in psychological report writing.
Dans les contextes de violences conjugales, la séparation est une période sensible. De multiples enjeux existent. Le premier concerne la sécurité des victimes, adultes et enfants. Le second, la ...parentalité. Conjugalité et parentalité étant intimement liées, nos interventions doivent tenir compte de ce contexte spécifique et proposer deux monoparentalités. Enfin, le dernier enjeu est lié à l’exercice de l’autorité parentale en fonction des compétences encore actives chez chacun des parents. L’expertise psychologique familiale nous semble un support adapté d’aide à la décision, dans l’intérêt de l’enfant.
Se analiza la influencia de la pericial psicológica en las decisiones judiciales en delitos sexuales infantiles en tres departamentos de Colombia y una provincia española. El estudio transcultural ...compara las sentencias entre los años 2000 y 2014. Los resultados arrojaron que en el 91.7 % de sentencias de juicios celebrados, los magistrados españoles hacen referencia explícita a la pericial psicológica. En tanto que en Colombia, la proporción fue del 88.8 %. La cercanía de estos porcentajes es alentadora, porque a estos resultados se llega utilizando examen de datos distintos, desiguales códigos penales y recorridos dispares en la aplicación de la pericial psicológica. Se obtienen conclusiones similares que refrendan la importancia del psicólogo en la toma de decisiones judiciales.
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