Sociocultural Issues in the Diagnosis and Assessment of Psychological Disorders

Question 1

List and describe the five clusters of racial identity described in this chapter.

Answer 1

(1) Dissonance Internalization - Individuals who are comfortable with their identity as an African American person but feel conflict over the meaning of being African American in a racially oppressive society

(2) Committed Internalization - Individuals who are proud of their African American identity but are less occupied with race and issues of racism

(3) Engaged Internalization - Individuals who are comfortable with their racial group and with confronting racial issues

(4) Undifferentiated Racial Identity - Individuals who are confused over their racial identity

(5) Dormant Racial Identity - Individuals that do not consider issues of racial identity.

Question 2

What is dynamic sizing, according to this chapter?

Answer 2

“Sue (1998) introduced the idea of dynamic sizing, which describes the clinical skill of knowing when cultural information is relevant to the client and when it is not, based on client characteristics. Hwang (2006) stressed the importance of dynamic sizing when working with ethnic minority clients in therapy. However, dynamic sizing also has functional relevance during the assessment and diagnostic process. Differences in acculturation and ethnic identity among members of the same ethnic group may result in variability in psychological well-being and psychopathology.”