1. Cross-Cultural Standardization of TEMAS in Three Hispanic Subcultures.
- Author
-
Costantino, Giuseppe
- Abstract
TEMAS is an apperception test depicting Hispanic and Black characters (minority version) or White characters (non-minority version) interacting in urban settings and expressing culturally oriented themes. It is scored for cognitive, affective, and personality functioning. The normative profiles, reliability, and criterion-related validity of TEMAS were compared for school and clinical children from three different Hispanic cultures. Subjects were: (1) 280 students in grades 1 through 6 and 50 child psychiatric outpatients in San Juan (Puerto Rico); (2) 167 students in grades 1 through 6 and 67 psychiatric outpatients of Puerto Rican background in New York; and (3) 59 children in grades 2 through 7 in Buenos Aires (Argentina). Children in New York and Puerto Rico were administered 23 minority TEMAS cards, the Spielberger Trait-Anxiety Scale for Children, and the Piers-Harris Scale. Children in Argentina were administered 10 TEMAS cards, the non-minority short form, and the Piers-Harris Scale. Results support the use of TEMAS with these cultural groups, but suggest that some TEMAS cards do not pull the designated personality functions as consistently with native Puerto Rican and Argentinian children. The reliability and validity estimates for the native Puerto Rican children were less favorable than were those for mainland U.S. groups. Preliminary evidence suggests that the characters, setting, and events of some pictures in the TEMAS are not appropriate in Argentinian culture. Findings point to the need to revise selected TEMAS cards to be culture specific. Three tables summarize study data. (Author/SLD)
- Published
- 1989