Handbook of Gender and Sexuality in Psychological Assessment

Psychologists who assess personality can render a more accurate, comprehensive picture of an individual by taking into account gender identity variable. The assessment of psychological problems also entails the consideration of this important variable because men and women show consistent differences in the kinds of mental health problems they exhibit. For example, investigators have found women to be much more subject to internalizing disorders and men to externalizing disorders. The strong connection between these internalized representations and corresponding external behaviors qualifies it as well within the province of personality. Yet psychological assessors generally and personality assessors specifically have almost entirely ignored this identity variable. We intend to bring it to the forefront of assessors’ consciousness by including in the text theoretical and case material on sexual orientation. The proposed volume will offer papers on the empirical findings on gender differences in personality and psychopathology and how they are reflected in psychological assessment findings. It will also provide case study material to illustrate how gender by itself and interaction with other variables enters into the assessment process. The practical implications of the findings from earlier chapters will be developed for training and ethical practice.

Virginia Brabender, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at Widener University.

Joni Mihura, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Toledo.