The Effects of Using the International Versus Comprehensive System Rorschach Norms For Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Currently, there is some debate about whether to use Comprehensive System norms (CS; Exner, 2003 Exner, J. E. (2003). The Rorschach: A Comprehensive System: Vol. 1. Basic foundations (4th ed.). New York, NY: Wiley. ) or the Composite International Reference Values (CIRV; Meyer, Erdberg, & Shaffer, 2007 Meyer, G. J., Erdberg, P., & Shaffer, T. W. (2007). Toward international normative reference data for the Comprehensive System. Journal of Personality Assessment, 89(Suppl. 1), S201–S216. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] ) when interpreting Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM; Rorschach, 1921 Rorschach, H. (1921). Psychodiagnostik [Psychodiagnostics]. Bern, Switzerland: Bircher. ) protocols administered with the CS method. The goal of this study is to assist clinicians in making this decision by providing information about the effects of choosing one option or the other. Accordingly, this research evaluates the effects of using the CS versus CIRV norms with children, adolescents, and adults. First, we identified 43 variables for which the CS and the CIRV for children and adolescents differ from each other by at least a Cohen's d value of .50. Next, we evaluated whether these divergent variables are the same as those previously identified as divergent for the adult population. Results showed that for both children and adolescents, as well as for adults, relying on CS norms versus CIRV would result in interpretations that are more pathological in terms of (a) perception and thinking, (b) psychological resources and cognitive and emotional abilities, and (c) representations of human relationships. A discussion on the clinical effects of using one versus the other set of norms follows.