1 A Guide to Interviewing across Cultures 1
A Multicultural Framework 3
How Interviews Differ from Other Kinds of Conversations 4
Orientation to This Book 5
Cultural Competence Is an Ethical Issue 7
Case Examples: Cross-Cultural Interviews That Crashed 7
Concluding Observations 12
2 Preparing for the Interview 14
Prior Information 14
What Else Do We Need to Prepare? 16
Handling Initial Paperwork 17
Deciding Whom to Interview 18
Setting for the Interview 19
Respecting Values, Negotiating Meanings, and Avoiding Professional Ethnocentrism 24
Who Is Coming to See Me?: Background Cultural Information 28
Assessing Culture and Acculturation 30
Text Box: Inquiring about Culture and Acculturation 31
Concluding Observations 37
3 Biases and Boundary Issues 39
Biases 39
Unbiased Observing 40
Text Box: Observational and Cognitive Biases That Can Affect Interviewing, Taking Notes, and Writing Reports 41
Special Connections and Boundary Issues 43
Ethnic Matching 44
Working with Someone from the "Same" Culture 46
Self-Disclosure 48
Bribes and Gifts 50
Text Box: What Might a Gift Mean in the Context of an Interview? 52
Maintaining Boundaries in Crisis Situations 52
Concluding Observations 54
4 Setting the Right Tone: Building Rapport and Conveying Respect 56
Demeanor 56
Giving Full Attention and Taking Notes 57
Conveying Respect 58
Counteracting Shame 60
Voice Quality, Tone, Speed, and Volume 62
Pace and Time 65
Joining with All Members of the Family 66
What's in a Name?: Addressing People Appropriately 67
Professional Titles 69
Saving and Losing Face 70
Questions Also Set the Tone 72
TextBox: Types of Questions 74
Concluding Observations 78
5 Beyond Words: Nonverbal Communication in Interviews 80
The Nonverbal World 81
Gestures 83
Greeting and Leave Taking 86
Showing Attentiveness 88
Posture 89
Gait 91
Communicating with the Eyes 91
Expressing Emotions 93
Expressing Pain and Distress 96
Touch 98
Personal Space 101
Smiling and Laughing 103
Communicating about Communicating 104
Nonverbal Signs of Disagreement and Agreement 105
Clothing 106
Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Forms of Body Modification 108
Concluding Observations 108
6 Language Competence: Building Bridges with People Who Have a Different Native Language 111
Attitude of Humility and Support 112
Text Box: Interviewing People with Limited English Language Proficiency 113
Trying to Remember 115
Language and Memory in People Who Are Bilingual 117
Language and Personality 120
Language and Abstractions 123
Language and Emotion 123
Operationalizing Language Competence: U.S. Guidelines and Requirements 127
Text Box: How Organizations Must Provide Language Access 127
Text Box: Making Documents More Accessible to People with Limited Language Proficiency 130
Documents in Diverse Languages 130
Language Preference 132
Choosing a Language for the Interview 132
Alternative Forms of English 136
Concluding Observations 138
7 The Interpreted Interview 140
The Interpreter's Power 140
When to Use an Interpreter 142
Finding an Interpreter 143
Text Box: Selecting an Interpreter 147
Informal Interpreters 147
Preparing Interpreters 151
Text Box: Preparing the Interpreter for Your Interview 152
Cultural Asides and Other Reasons to Pause an Interview 154
The Interpreter's Role 156
The Interpreted Conversation 158
Interpreter Vulnerabilities 162
Text Box: Conducting Interviews Using Interpreters 164
Concluding Observations 165
8 Understanding and Addressing Reluctance to Divulge Information 167
Attitudes toward Speaking Out 168
Silence 169
Who Owns Information? 173
Airing Secrets and Conflicts 174
Taboo Topics 175
Substance Abuse 178
Child Abuse and Neglect 183
Intimate Partner Violence 186
Sexual Assault 188
Interviewer Strategies for Addressing Reluctance and Silence 189
Improving Our Own Comfort with Difficult Topics 193
Concluding Observations 195
9 Interviewing Culturally Diverse Children and Adolescents 198
Special Issues in Interviewing Children 199
Living in Two Worlds 200
Text Box: Planning Cross-Cultural Interviews with Children 201
Behavioral Observations with Cultural Minority Children 204
Text Box: Correctly Interpreting the Behavior of Children from Minority Cultural Groups 205
Using Assessment Instruments with Cultural Minority Youth and Families 211
Assessing Development in Children 214
Text Box: Conducting Developmental Assessments and Interviews with Children and Their Families from Diverse Cultures 216
Special Issues in Interviewing Adolescents 220
Concluding Observations 226
10 Interview Reports and Documents 228
Recording Behavioral Observations or Presentation 229
Reporting the Interviewee's Attitude, Demeanor, and Affect 230
Text Box: Correctly Interpreting and Writing about Interviewees' Presentation 231
Taking Notes 236
The Audience for Your Report 237
Notational Bias 238
Word Choice 239
Referring to Race, Ethnicity, and Other Identity Groups 240
Giving Your Opinion 243
Your Voice and Choices around It 244
Cultural Formulation 245
Contributing Factors 246
Recommendations and Prognoses 247
Making Oral Reports 249
Text Box: Reviewing Your Completed Report 250
Concluding Observations 251
11 Authority and Trust Issues for Specific Professions 254
Social Work 254
Text Box: Tips for Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews in Social Work Settings 256
Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Professions 256
Text Box: Tips for Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews in Health Care Settings 261
Mental Health Clinicians 262
Text Box: Tips for Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews in Mental Health Settings 264
Law Enforcement 265
Text Box: Tips for Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews in Law Enforcement Settings 267
Educators 267
Text Box: Tips for Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews in Educational Settings 270
Attorneys 271
Text Box: Tips for Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews in Legal Settings 272
Researchers 272
Text Box: Tips for Researchers Conducting Cross-Cultural Interviews 274
Potential Employers in the Helping Professions 275
Women's Crisis Workers 278
Concluding Observations 278
12 Common Dilemmas and Misunderstandings in Cross-Cultural Interviews 280
Text Box: Common Mistakes in Cross-Cultural Interviews 281
Gathering Basic Demographic Information 282
Truth, Lies, and Immigration 287
Promptness and Alternatives 290
Asking People Directly about Their Backgrounds 292
When Your Competence or Appropriateness Is Questioned 293
Crossing the Class Divide 295
The Multiple Meanings of "Yes" 298
Magical Thinking 299
The Meaning of Dreams 301
Concluding Observations 301
Afterword: Your Self as a Resource 303
Text Box: Cross-Cultural Interviewing Practices 304
The Limits of Our Knowledge 305
Cultural Competence and Social Justice 305
Stepping Forward toward Cultural Competence 306
References 307
Index 317
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