On Not Reinventing the Wheel: A Clinical Perspective on Culturally Relevant Test Usage in South Africa

Abstract

Dutch

The aim of this article is to appeal against an attitude of nihilism with respect to test usage which occurs because tests have not been designed for application among a particular population, or because appropriate normative data are not yet available. In South Africa this attitude, in its extreme form, promotes a view that all tests in common usage on westernized populations should be abandoned and new culturally relevant and appropriately standardized tests should be designed. In settings dealing with rural and illiterate or semi-literate populations, such a stance has relevance. However, this article cautions against an erroneous exaggeration of cultural effects which fails to take into account the acculturation process. Clinical and research data on urbanized African (Xhosa first language) subjects are used to demonstrate the absence of clinically significant cultural effects on frequently employed, standard test material.

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