Case Study
Patient Demographic: Client Age: 27 Sex: Female Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual Ethnicity: Caucasian Relationship Status: Married Counseling Setting: Career Counseling Center Type of Counseling: Individual Presenting Problem: Employment-related Stress; Anxiety Diagnosis: Adjustment Disorder with Anxiety 309.24 (F43.22)
Mental Status Exam: Mental Status: The client was well-groomed and dressed appropriately. She appears nervous and jittery and quickly places her hands under the table when she notices them shaking. The client states that she is not sleeping well and says it is difficult making it to work each day knowing that “things rarely go as planned.” She explains that she has irritable bowel syndrome, which is exacerbated by stress. The client reports that there are no known medical conditions that would cause her chronic headaches. The client denies homicidal or suicidal ideations but remarks that she has felt like this in the past. Wor
Presenting Problem: You work in a career counseling center, and your intake is a 27-year-old white female employed as a fourth-grade elementary schoolteacher. The client has been a teacher for 3.5 years and has become increasingly dissatisfied with her job. The client explains that she is “at her breaking point” and relays that her stress level has increased sharply within the past 3 months. This is her first school year with a newly hired principal who has been “unreasonably demanding and unsupportive.” The client states that she was already second-guessing her career choice and explains that disruptive students and a lack of parental involvement have made teaching incredibly challenging. She reports “stress-induced physical symptoms,” which include acute stomach distress and chronic headaches. She worries that her skill set is nontransferable.
Other Contexts: The client reports that her husband’s patience continues to wear thin, so she has explored the possibility of alternate employment. She states that she applied for a position as a curriculum sales representative but did not get an interview. The client reports that the company used a personality inventory to prescreen job applicants. She says that someone in human resources told her she was not selected for an interview because the company was looking for someone who was more extraverted and a “thinker” rather than a “feeler.” The client explains that she was under the impression that they were looking for a male. She expresses an interest in using personality inventories to help identify employment that would be a good fit for her

Question: Which is NOT true of the legal and ethical considerations for using personality inventories to conduct preemployment screening?
(A): The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits preemployment screening instruments from being used as a means for discriminating against those age 50 or over.
(B): Unless the employer can prove otherwise, using personality inventories can violate antidiscrimination laws for people belonging to certain groups (e.g., sex, race).
(C): Interpretation and feedback for specific personality inventories must allow questions and clarification and avoid biased terms indicating that a particular personality preference is “not desirable.”
(D): The reliability, validity, and psychometric limitations and appropriateness of instruments must be considered when selecting assessments for preemployment screening.

Correct Answer: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits preemployment screening instruments from being used as a means for discriminating against those age 50 or over.
Explanation: The Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits preemployment screening instruments from being used as a means for discriminating against those over the age of 40 rather than 50. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission bans employers from intentionally using personality tests and other selection procedures to discriminate against individuals based on religion, race, nationality, disability, sex, age, or color. Ethical guidelines for using personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, state that feedback and clarification must be sought when interpreting results. Test administrators must set aside time for questions and avoid biased terms indicating that a particular personality preference is “not desirable” Lastly, the ACA Code of Ethics states, “Counselors carefully consider the validity, reliability, psychometric limitations, and appropriateness of instruments when selecting assessments and, when possible, use multiple forms of assessment, data, and/or instruments in forming conclusions, diagnoses, or recommendations”. Therefore, the correct answer is (B)
Competency: professional practice and ethics