No abstract

Despite increasing interest in the psychological assessment of adolescents, no test usage surveys have specifically targeted practitioners who work with teenagers. This study involved distribution of research surveys to 600 psychologists; the 165 respondents who provided usable data yielded an adjusted response rate of 36%. The Wechsler Intelligence Scales, the Rorschach, and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were identified as the most widely used intellectual, projective, and objective instruments, respectively, with adolescents. The Bender-Gestalt, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), sentence completion tests, figure drawings, and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) were also included in the 10 most frequently used instruments. Data were also presented on standard test batteries used with adolescent clients, and advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of the MMPI.Adolescents have been the focus of extensive research interest in recent years, and a number of clinical measures and tests have been developed specifically for use with this age group. Assessment of adolescents has received increased coverage in many current texts that deal mainly with testing or assessment (e.g.,

The present survey investigated psychodiagnostic test usage and practices of the Society for Personality Assessment. A brief questionnaire was forwarded to 400 SPA members and 206 responded for a 51.5% rate of return. Projective techniques found popular in previous surveys of Division 12 were the major assessment instruments utilized by SPA members. Exner's comprehensive system was the preferred mode of Rorschach analysis, followed by the Klopfer and Beck systems. The Wechsler Scales and the MMPI were frequently included in conducting a psychological battery. Personality assessment was mainly utilized for diagnostic purposes and as an indicator for type of therapy.

We surveyed psychological testing trends in outpatient mental health centers, clinics, and services in the United States. The sample was obtained from the National Directory of Mental Health and the National Registry of Community Mental Health Services. Of 900 facilities with a psychologist on staff, 413 (46%) returned questionnaires. The MMPI and the Wechsler scales were the instruments most frequently used, closely followed in usage frequency by the major projective techniques. The WRAT, the Peabody, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Wechsler Memory Scale were also quite popular. Apparently, clinicians rely on traditional tests despite the proliferation of new assessment instruments in the clinical literature. Implications for graduate training are discussed.In a national survey of test usage, Lubin, Larsen, Matarazzo, and Seever (1985) suggested that future surveys of test use should report separately for individual settings. In surveying regional outpatient mental health facilities, Piotrowski and Keller (1978) found that traditional techniques of assessment, including projectives, were quite popular. Inasmuch as Lubin et al.'s survey was conducted in 1982 (and published in 1985), a 5year update of testing patterns of mental health facilities seems desirable because (a) the use of computer-based testing software programs has recently increased; (b) many new instruments