Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test

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dc.contributor.advisorThomas, Kevin G.F.
dc.contributor.authorSiebert, Julian M.
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-26T09:36:50Z
dc.date.available2019-08-26T09:36:50Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.date.updated2019-08-26T08:17:53Z
dc.description.abstractNeuropsychological assessment in linguistically heterogeneous populations is fraught with numerous challenges, such as lacking or inappropriate normative data or the unavailability of appropriate tests. Accommodating multilingual individuals exacerbates the issue by adding the question of which language(s) to use when assessing multilingual individuals. Different testrelated concepts may be accessible to them via different languages, as their lexicon is spread out over two or more languages. Hence, any monolingual instrument is likely to disadvantage them. The present set of three studies circumvents this question and presents evidence for an inherently multilingual English/Afrikaans/isiXhosa screening tool for intelligence, the Multilingual Vocabulary Test (MVT). I describe the instrument’s development from the pilot study to a psychometric analysis of the final, digitally administered version. For an abbreviated 13-item version, Study 3 (N = 494) shows an internal consistency of  = .59 and Study 2 (N = 101) produced significant criterion-related validity values of r = .46 and r = .52 with the KBIT-2 and Shipley-2 VIQ scores respectively. Linear regression analyses show that, while all criterion measures are biased toward E1-speakers, the MVT is largely immune to test-takers’ linguistic background. Thus, the MVT paves the way toward more fairness in cognitive assessments, in general, and provides a promising first step toward addressing one of South African neuropsychologists’ greatest needs—that of a quick and easy-to-administer, yet linguistically fair screening tool for cognitive impairment.
dc.identifier.apacitationSiebert, Julian M. (2019). <i>Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test</i>. (). ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30519en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSiebert, Julian M.. <i>"Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test."</i> ., ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30519en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSiebert, Julian M. 2019. Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test. . ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30519en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Siebert, Julian M. AB - Neuropsychological assessment in linguistically heterogeneous populations is fraught with numerous challenges, such as lacking or inappropriate normative data or the unavailability of appropriate tests. Accommodating multilingual individuals exacerbates the issue by adding the question of which language(s) to use when assessing multilingual individuals. Different testrelated concepts may be accessible to them via different languages, as their lexicon is spread out over two or more languages. Hence, any monolingual instrument is likely to disadvantage them. The present set of three studies circumvents this question and presents evidence for an inherently multilingual English/Afrikaans/isiXhosa screening tool for intelligence, the Multilingual Vocabulary Test (MVT). I describe the instrument’s development from the pilot study to a psychometric analysis of the final, digitally administered version. For an abbreviated 13-item version, Study 3 (N = 494) shows an internal consistency of  = .59 and Study 2 (N = 101) produced significant criterion-related validity values of r = .46 and r = .52 with the KBIT-2 and Shipley-2 VIQ scores respectively. Linear regression analyses show that, while all criterion measures are biased toward E1-speakers, the MVT is largely immune to test-takers’ linguistic background. Thus, the MVT paves the way toward more fairness in cognitive assessments, in general, and provides a promising first step toward addressing one of South African neuropsychologists’ greatest needs—that of a quick and easy-to-administer, yet linguistically fair screening tool for cognitive impairment. DA - 2019 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Cross-cultural neuropsychology KW - assessment KW - multilingualism KW - linguistic fairness KW - South Africa LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2019 T1 - Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test TI - Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30519 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/30519
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSiebert Julian M. Toward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test. []. ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Psychology, 2019 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/30519en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Psychology
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanities
dc.subjectCross-cultural neuropsychology
dc.subjectassessment
dc.subjectmultilingualism
dc.subjectlinguistic fairness
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.titleToward Linguistically Fair IQ Screening: The Multilingual Vocabulary Test
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMaster of Social Science
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