L’évaluation psychologique en situation transculturelle : une révision de la littérature

Human migration provokes transcultural clinical encounters that may challenge the way clinicians see themselves and how they proceed in their usual practices. In the field of psychology, psychological assessment is an important tool to better understand the patients’ needs and to design psychological interventions. Considering that most diagnostic tests and manuals have been developed in the Western context, the application of these tools with other populations remains controversial. The present literature review aims to describe the state of current knowledge on psychological transcultural assessment. Specifically, we will address: (1) the use of psychological tests in transcultural contexts, (2) the development of the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI, DSM-5) and (3) the clinical interview: language, therapeutic relationship and participation of interpreters. In the first section, we discuss the international norms for scales and tests translation and adaptation, as well as the cultural issues that may bias the test’ application and interpretation. In the second section, we describe the creation of the CFI, and its use in recent studies. The CFI is composed by four clusters: (1) cultural definition of a problem, (2) cultural perceptions of cause, context, and support, (3) cultural factors affecting self-coping and past help seeking, and (4) cultural factors affecting current help seeking. The revised studies indicated that the CFI has a positive impact on the cultural sensibilization of mental health professionals, also improving the relationship between the patients and professionals. The cultural formulation may also prevent misdiagnosis. Beyond the use of tests and structured interviews, the clinician also faces other challenges during a transcultural assessment. We discuss in the third section the transferential and countertransferential relationship in a transcultural situation. Several elements may influence this relationship, at an individual, institutional and societal level. The evaluation of these elements may allow the clinician to better understand results of the psychological assessment. We also describe the current guidelines for the use of interpreters during health consultations in France. In conclusion, several advances have been made in the field of transcultural psychological assessment, among other things the development of guides for good translation and cultural adaptation of tools, as well as the integration of cultural issues into the DSM. However, research and changes in clinical practice are still needed, as the evaluation of cultural biases in cognitive tests and the expansion of cultural competences training among clinicians.     

De la question de l’évaluation psychologique et de la psychométrie en douleur chronique

The practice of psychological assessment is an important step in the evaluation of the complex problems presented by patients dealing with chronic pain. We want to discuss here the framework of intervention of the psychologist in the context, but also shed light on the contributions of this practice to the pain clinic. This will include discussing a joint assessment, combining a psychological assessment referred to as classic with a psychological evaluation specific pain.     

Adaptation et validation de la version française de l’échelle d’évaluation de la relation

IntroductionRelationship satisfaction is one of the most studied constructs in the field of relationship evaluation because of its impact on various aspects of daily life. It is therefore important to have an instrument in French.ObjectivesThis study aims to adapt the Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS) and validate its psychometric properties in French from its original version in English.MethodTwo studies were carried out. In the first study, 200 participants responded to the French version of the Relationship Assessment Scale (EER), the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), and the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) to assess the factor structure and psychometric properties of the French version (reliability, convergent validity, incremental validity). In the second study confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the factor structure and to examine the gender invariance of the EER through a multi-factorial analysis in a population of 114 adults.ResultsThe results show that the psychometric properties of the EER are acceptable and comparable to the original version of the instrument. The EER presents a one dimensional factor structure. The positive correlations between the EER and the different scales tested support good external validity. The multi-group analysis showed that both women and men similarly understand the items and attribute the same meaning to the questions, confirming gender invariance of the EER.ConclusionThe French version of the EER is a valid and reliable assessment instrument of relationship satisfaction. The clinical and research implications of this scale are discussed.     

La contribution des arbres de classification et de régression dans la prédiction de la récidive chez les délinquants sexuels adultes

Clinicians have access to several risk assessment instruments to evaluate the risk or recidivism in sexual offenders. Nevertheless, we seem to have attained a ceiling in the predictive validity of these instruments with the traditional techniques of items agglomeration. In this study, we offer a different combination of predictors with the classification and regression trees, and it, by taking into account the type of sexual offenders. The classification trees are constructed from predictors contained in seven actuarial instruments (VRAG, SORAG, RRASOR, STATIC-99, STATIC-2002, RM2000, MnSOST-R). In general, the classification trees have a higher predictive accuracy than the actuarial instruments and point out that it's not the same predictors that should be considered according to the type of offenders and the type of recidivism. Furthermore, classification trees identify correctly more recidivists than the best actuarial tool. In spite of the contribution of this approach, other types of predictors should also be considered to augment predictive accuracy: dynamic predictors, protective predictors as well as measurements based on theories like those on attachment styles (Marshall, D. R., Barbaree, H. E., 1990. An integrated theory of the etiology of sexual offending. In: Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R. L., Barbaree, H.E. (Eds.), Handbook of sexual assault. New York: Plenum Press, pp. 257-275.) and cognitive distortions (Ward, T., Keenan, T., Hudson, S. M., 2000. Understanding cognitive, affective, and intimacy deficits in sexual offenders: a developmental perspective. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 41–62.).     

De la prévention à la promotion de la santé : intérêt de l’approche communautaire

Psychological research and practice shows increasing interest for prevention and health promotion in France. Current-scientific literature recommends the implementation of targeted actions, directed towards populations expressing specific needs. The community-based approach offers a framework corresponding to the flexibility, which is necessary to the effectiveness of this type of intervention. It includes the mobilization and the participation of the citizens in the development of each unique project, in the renewal of the project according to the needs, in finding possible solutions, and in assessing the actions carried out. This article aims at presenting the importance of a community-based approach in the field of health promotion; a field which would benefit from being better known in France in order to develop intervention programs adapted to each population.     

Effets de l’expression d’embarras et de la personnalité du candidat sur l’évaluation,la réaction comportementale et la décision d’embauche du recruteur

Job interview is a standardized situation that carries high stakes and involves impression management tactics. When an incident occurs in such a situation it could create embarrassment. Usually the expression of this self-conscious emotion positively affects others’ judgment. The aim of this study is to know whether this positive effect could also be observed in a job interview and whether it may vary depending on how embarrassment is expressed and with the personality of the job applicant. Contrary to what it is observed in an ordinary context, the absence of expression is favored by the recruiters; the expression of embarrassment is rather negatively perceived, especially when it is not controlled. The issue of emotional expressivity during interview will be discussed.     

Stéréotypes de poids,jugement de valeur et de recrutabilité : les rôles modérateurs du sexe et de la personnalité

ObjectiveThe existing literature testifies to the presence of discrimination against obese people in hiring. The present study aimed to test the effects of candidates’ weight on value judgment and recruitability by taking into account their gender and personality. The study using the judges’ paradigm involved a sample of 279 recruiters. The recruiters were asked to judge eight fictitious CVs including a photo of the candidate, their education, their work experience and their answers to a personality test (proactive or reactive personality). The target job was a medical laboratory technician.ResultsAnalyses of variance revealed significant effects of applicants’ weight, and proactivity on judgements of agreeableness, effort, competence and recruitability. Indeed, obese people are discriminated against in hiring whereas proactivity would be a variable increasing the recruitability judgment. Moreover, the gender of applicants alone is no longer a variable that encourages discrimination.ConclusionThis study opens up a new field of research on proactivity as a social norm of judgement and corroborates previous studies on weight discrimination in personnel selection. The limitations of the study open up new avenues of research.     

Les “règles de la discussion légitime” dans la logique de Port-Royal

In the XVIIth century the conflict which opposed the jansenists to the jesuits involved the problem of the due process in theological matter. The jesuits heralded the thesis that the infallibility of the Church has to be extended from dogmatics (quaestio iuris) to the historical facts (quaestio facti). On the opposite side Arnauld maintained that such an opinion was monstruous: also in religious matters the fact has to be proved according to the principles of a due process, and not by authority. In this article the thesis pleaded by the jansenists is considered in connection with the model of argumentative procedure offered by the Port-Royal logic.The Logique ou Art de penser (1622) by Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole seems to have rediscovered the classical principles of the theory of argumentation: from the burden of proof to the idea of probable truth. But really a new model of adversary-system has been introduced into the modern mind, which is very different in concept from the topical tradition. The basic metaphor of combat, implying that the truth will prevail in the fight, is compatible with the epistemological premises of the modern logic (as the separation between fact and value). Therefore the problem of the fact-finding seems to be attracted into the area of the logic of information, and not of the theory of argumentation.

     

Évaluation de la compréhension écrite de récits chez l’enfant de 7 à 10 ans : vers des profils de compreneurs

IntroductionThe aim of the study was to investigate reading comprehension skills in 7 to 10-year-old children and to present a new tool for assessing reading comprehension skills in elementary school children. Two aspects of text comprehension were assessed: literal comprehension skills and inference generation (with two subtypes of inferences, coherence inferences and knowledge-based inferences).MethodTwo narratives of varying length and complexity have been constructed and presented to 498 French-speaking children from second grade to fifth grade.ResultsThe results showed an evolution of performance with school level. Children's scores also depended on the type of comprehension skill evaluated (literal versus inferential) and difficulty of texts. Furthermore, cluster analysis yielded five profiles that clearly differ on children's ability to respond to either literal questions, coherence inferential questions, or knowledge-based inferential questions.ConclusionThe existence of different profiles of comprehenders is discussed in terms of theoretical implications. Finally, some limitations and way of improvement are presented.     

La psychotechnique des aptitudes. Pour différencier une sociotechnique de l’évaluation sans mesurage et une psychologie balbutiante de la compréhension de la performance

A widespread view consists in considering that validated psychotechnical tests enable one to measure intellectual abilities with the help of the scoring of observed performances. This paper (i) elaborates a falsifiable conception of ordinal measurement, (ii) shows that it is likely that the observed performances falsify it, and (iii) analyzes how psychometric modeling fulfils the comparative imperative that underpins the assessment of abilities. But the evaluative efficacy builds up to the detriment of scientific knowledge of the performance's determinants. The practice of psychological assessment is then thought of as a sociotechnics of assessment without measurement.     

Composer avec la diversité culturelle en classe de maternelle: résultats d’une analyse de récits de pratique enseignante

This article offers an analysis of teachers’ narrative within which kindergarten teachers have rebuilt their intercultural experience in the classroom, through a situation featuring a child "from another culture". The progressive scheduling in, oriented towards the ideal type of commitment to the child "of another culture", which led the analysis, will be presented and interpreted from two angles, therefore providing a definition of what we named the "otherness in act ", referring to some "enactment" of the paradigm of otherness (Abdallah Pretceille, 1996, 1999, 2003).     

Les groupes de parole de prévention de la récidive en France : observation des effets produits

Recidivism prevention became the core of mission of the probation service in France. Support groups were created in order to bring probationers’ social skills to enhance their reentry into society. This article describes the effects of such groups by evaluation of their effects on 19 probationers divided into 4 groups. Observations show that the effects are different according to the apprehension of subject, mission and which pedagogy is employed. Different process produced different effects onto probationers.     

La qualité de la relation leader/membre et les comportements innovants : le rôle modérateur de la résistance au changement

Researchers have proposed that high quality of supervisor–employee relationships (Basu & Green, 1997; Scott & Bruce, 1994; Sanders, Moorkamp, Torka, Groeneveld & Groeneveld, 2010) fosters innovative behaviour. Moreover, researchers have acknowledged that this relationship is not clear (Rosing, Frese & Bausch, 2011; Volmer, Spurk & Niessen, 2012). The present study aims at testing the moderating role of resistance to change in the LMX-innovative behaviour relationship. Results of a study based on 160 participants from an organization provide empirical support to this hypothesis.     

Dynamique des processus de développement de carrière en contexte contre-stéréotypique : modélisation de la réussite des femmes militaires aux formations professionnelles

Careers in the French Navy are determined by successive certifications allowed military to have more and more managerial responsibilities. Women are unequally represented in the hierarchy. Military identity is deeply associated with male characteristics (Sorin, 2003). Women encounter difficulties to be perceived as military in their own right (Héritier, 2011), but also to articulate their identity as women with their professional identity, de facto in opposition (Toulgoat, 2002). On the one hand women's family life is seen as incompatible with service life (Caraire & Léger, 2000), on the other hand, within the crews of warships, their skills are underestimated (Matthews, Ender, Laurence, & Rohall, 2009). The objective of this study is to model the effects of professional identifications and self-assessment of competences on the success of military women in professional certifications. We interviewed 154 students in training to become “experienced operators” (including 73 women) with an average of 3.32 years of duty (SD = 2.11) and 61 students in training to become “team leader” (including 20 women) with an average of 9.28 years of duty (SD = 3.30). The questionnaire measures self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), performance expectations compared to their colleagues (Rosenthal, Crisp, & Suen, 2007), identification to the professional group (Laplante & Tougas, 2011) and identification to the organization (Tougas, Rinfret, Beaton, & de la Sablonniere, 2005). The final score at the end of the training is considered as an indicator of success. While women are as successful as men in the certification “operator”, they are less successful in the certification “team leader”. The structural equation model (path analysis) (χ²(15, n = 215) = 21.32, p = .13; CFI = .982, GFI = .976, RMSEA = .044) emphasizes the centrality of professional identifications to succeed in training. Women are less identified with sailor than men and feel less able to succeed, they develop lower performance expectations and they underestimate their performance compared to their colleagues, which has a negative effect on their success in training. In parallel, changes in family life are associated with reduced professional identifications, but this effect is independent of the sex of the individuals. Women are therefore exposed to two independent sources of influence limiting their career development: gender, which leads to less professional identifications and to compare unfavorably with their colleagues, and family status. These results highlight the importance of the dynamic of self-realization processes throughout the career.     

Analyse narrative du récit de la maladie : intérêts méthodologiques et réflexion sur la prise en charge thérapeutique des patients en oncologie

The narrative approach is an emerging disciplinary field, which considers the narrative to be a therapeutic, a methodological and an object of study in its own right. The objective of our contribution is twofold: (a) to present the context of emergence of the narrative approach and the notion of narrative in the field of psychology, and (b) to question the theoretical-methodological relevance of this approach in order to explore the expression of social knowledge with regard to the lived experience of cancer. After presenting some methods of collection and analysis of the narrative, we will suggest an application of this approach by analyzing narrative interviews of people with cancer. We will build on the results obtained to develop a reflection on the applied perspectives of the narrative approach, particularly with regard to the psychological therapy of cancer patients.