Psychological Assessment of Cross-Cultural Mission Candidates in Australasia

This study surveyed psychological assessment practice for cross-cultural mission candidates in Australasia. It hypothesized that there would be a difference in knowledge about assessments between mission chief executive officers (CEOs), member care specialists, and psychological assessors. Sixty-nin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychology and theology
Authors: Thompson, Katherine N. (Author) ; Williams, David (Author) ; Kimber, Thomas (Author) ; Matthews, Delle (Author) ; Grossmann, Mathis (Author) ; Brautigam, Michael (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage Publishing 2023
In: Journal of psychology and theology
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Oceania / Missionary / Psychology / Examination (Medicine) / Psychometrics / Datenschutzgesetz
IxTheo Classification:KBS Australia; Oceania
RJ Mission; missiology
XA Law
ZD Psychology
Further subjects:B psychometric test
B candidate
B Ministry
B Psychological Assessment
B Mission
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This study surveyed psychological assessment practice for cross-cultural mission candidates in Australasia. It hypothesized that there would be a difference in knowledge about assessments between mission chief executive officers (CEOs), member care specialists, and psychological assessors. Sixty-nine mission organization staff and nine independent assessors responded to an online survey about psychological assessment, compliance with Australian legislation and government recommendations, and the use of psychometric tests. The results suggested that pre-field psychological assessments were a vital part of member care. Assessors were more likely to report organizations struggled to apply the results to candidate selection, that assessments were used to screen out people with mental illness, and were looking for different key attributes in candidates compared with organizations. The key areas that were identified as being important to assess were strong interpersonal skills, physical and psychological resilience, and contentment with current relationship status. The study also identified several systemic problems in relation to the focus of assessments, payment, measurement, and whether reports complied with law and government recommendations, and previous recommendations in the mission literature. This study suggested a need for a more standardized purposeful approach to conducting pre-field psychological assessments for cross-cultural mission candidates.
ISSN:2328-1162
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of psychology and theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/00916471221143453