J. te Nijenhuis

Comparabilty of GATB scores for immigrants and majority group members: Some Dutch findings

The central question addressed in this article is whether the test scores of immigrants and majority group members reflect the same dimensions. Use was made of scores on the Dutch version of the General Aptitude Test Battery on first-generation immigrants (N = 1,322) and majority group members (N = 806) who applied for blue-collar jobs in the Netherlands. The group differences with respect to the construct validity were small. Spearmans hypothesis that general intelligence is the predominant factor determining the size of the differences between 2 groups was borne out significantly. The test can be put to good use for comparisons within culturally homogeneous groups of non-native-born, non-native-language minorities. Use of the test for comparisons between immigrant and majority group members, however, requires supplementary research.

Comparability of personality test scores for immigrants and majority group members: Some Dutch findings

The questions addressed are whether a taxonomy with the dimensions Neuroticism and Extraversion can be generalized to immigrant groups in the Netherlands, and whether scores on an Eysenckstyle personality questionnaire, the ABV (Amsterdam Biographical Questionnaire), can be used for assessment within these groups. Use was made of test data on first-generation immigrants (N = 1302) and majority group members (N = 796). The scales appear to measure the same constructs in the various groups and the majority of the items do not show differential item functioning, therefore the taxonomy can be generalized to immigrant populations and the questionnaire can be put to good use for comparisons within culturally homogeneous groups of non-native born, non-native language immigrants.