Assessment of Adolescent Mental Disorders: Cross‐Cultural Issues : History, Theory, and Culture in Adolescence Cultural Factors Related to Mental Illness Diagnosis, Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention

This entry reviews common methods for assessing adolescents' mental disorders, including interviews, questionnaires, and observation methods. Cultural issues regarding application of these assessments across ethnic groups are discussed. These cultural considerations include (1) how differences in cultural values may affect the experience and expression of psychopathological symptomatology, (2) how assessment items are framed and understood in specific cultural contexts, (3) how social norms and cultural values may generate specific response biases depending on the response options offered, and (4) concern over the translation and cross‐cultural adaptation of assessment instruments.