Psychological Assessment of Cross-Cultural Mission Candidates in Australasia

Abstract

This study surveyed psychological assessment practice for cross-cultural mission candidates in Australasia. It hypothesized that there would be a difference in knowledge about assessments between mission chief executive officers (CEOs), member care specialists, and psychological assessors. Sixty-nine mission organization staff and nine independent assessors responded to an online survey about psychological assessment, compliance with Australian legislation and government recommendations, and the use of psychometric tests. The results suggested that pre-field psychological assessments were a vital part of member care. Assessors were more likely to report organizations struggled to apply the results to candidate selection, that assessments were used to screen out people with mental illness, and were looking for different key attributes in candidates compared with organizations. The key areas that were identified as being important to assess were strong interpersonal skills, physical and psychological resilience, and contentment with current relationship status. The study also identified several systemic problems in relation to the focus of assessments, payment, measurement, and whether reports complied with law and government recommendations, and previous recommendations in the mission literature. This study suggested a need for a more standardized purposeful approach to conducting pre-field psychological assessments for cross-cultural mission candidates.