Cultural and linguistic adaptability of the Rorschach Performance Assessment System as a measure of psychotic characteristics and severity of mental disturbance in Taiwan.

This study investigated the cultural and linguistic adaptability of the Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS), a new Rorschach administration, scoring, and interpretation system that minimizes psychometric weaknesses of the Comprehensive System (CS). This investigation addressed the validity of R-PAS measures of psychotic characteristics and psychopathology severity in Taiwan, including the incremental validity of the R-PAS relative to the CS variables measuring the same constructs. Ninety Taiwanese individuals (75 psychiatric patients and 15 nonpatients) were tested with standard R-PAS administration and scoring. Two non-Rorschach severity of disturbance measures and 2 psychosis measures served as independent criterion measures. The R-PAS measures were found to be valid in Taiwan in assessing psychotic symptoms and psychopathology severity, thus demonstrating cultural and linguistic adaptability. Moreover, hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated incremental validity for the R-PAS variables over their CS counterparts, providing support that the R-PAS revisions enhance the test psychometrically. These research findings also demonstrate the viability of the R-PAS as a Rorschach system that can be effectively employed outside the U.S. in a different language and culture.