Psychologists' Clinical Evaluations and Attitudes: An Examination of the Influence of Gender and Sexual Orientation.

Becoming aware of factors that may affect differential treatment of clients is necessary for psychologists to practice competently. Scholarly writing and empirical studies have suggested that therapist gender, client gender, and client sexual orientation are 3 such factors. This study examined therapist gender, client gender, and client sexual orientation in relation to psychologists' attitudes and clinical evaluations for clients. Results indicated that female psychologists held more positive attitudes and treatment expectations for clients than did male psychologists and that some psychologists hold inconsistent attitudes toward female clients generally and lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients in particular. Continuing education and consultation are recommended to increase psychologists' awareness of gender and sexual orientation issues and potential influences in treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselors' attitudes regarding bisexuality as predictors of counselors' clinical responses: An anlogue study of a female bisexual client.

Ninety-seven counselors read a fictitious intake report about a bisexual woman who was seeking counseling services for several psychological concerns. Counselors then rated the woman's psychological functioning and their own anticipated reactions to having the woman as a client. As the authors hypothesized, counselors with the most negative attitudes regarding bisexuality were more likely than others to have negative reactions to the client, anticipate responding to the client in a biased and judgmental manner, believe the client had problems in areas related to bisexual stereotypes, and rate the client as having a low level of psychosocial functioning. Attitudes regarding bisexuality were significantly related to counselors' clinical judgments and reactions even after controlling for attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disability and the law: Attitudes of police, lawyers, and mental health professionals.

A literature review on the attitudes of police officers, lawyers, and mental health professionals toward the disabled indicates that police officers' attitudes are related to the extent of their formal education and the amount of information they have about relating to persons with various types of disabilities. Lawyers who have disabled clients tend to be more knowledgeable and to have more positive attitudes than lawyers without such clients, but it is not easy to turn lawyers into advocates for disabled clients. Mental health professionals, who may be called on to provide advice to police officers or lawyers or to testify in court cases, have some negative aspects that may impair their helpfulness, but their attitudes are more positive than those of less educated persons. Data also indicate that the attitudes of psychologists are less negative than those of psychiatrists. It is concluded that rehabilitation psychologists need to undertake studies of the attitudes of these groups and to set up programs designed to change the attitudes of members of these professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social and interpersonal reactions to depression and disability.

Studied the reactions of 167 undergraduates to a 21-yr-old male actor with a physical disability who behaved in either a depressed or socially appropriate manner in an interview and appeared to be either physically disabled or nondisabled. Consistent with predictions, the actor was rated more favorably when he appeared disabled, and Ss had strong negative reactions to depressive behavior regardless of physical appearance. S attitudes toward persons with disability were affected by the interpersonal behavior of the target: Ss evidenced more open, accepting attitudes toward persons with disability after viewing appropriate behavior by the actor, and Ss in the depressed disabled condition endorsed more stereotypic, negative attitudes. Results are discussed in terms of "kindness norm" behavior and social models of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

African American client skin tone and clinical judgments of African American and European American psychologists.

After reviewing a photograph and case materials depicting an African American female client, African American and European American psychologists were randomly assigned to one of three skin tone versions of a photograph (light, medium, or dark) and completed a questionnaire. No relationships were found between client skin tone or psychologist sex and either primary diagnosis or treatment recommendation. However, African American psychologists rated the client more physically attractive and likely to benefit from therapy, and they expressed more positive feelings about the client and about working with the client, than did European American psychologists, who more strongly endorsed severe mental disorder diagnoses for the client. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Masculine gender role conflict and negative feelings about being gay.

Professional psychologists who work with gay men have noted that traditional masculine ideals play a prominent role in the gay community whereby some endorse these traditional ideals and stigmatize effeminate behavior by other gay men. One hypothesis is that this behavior reflects negative feelings about being gay. This article examined this hypothesis by reporting the results of an online survey of 622 self-identified gay men. Participants completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale, Lesbian and Gay Identity Scale, the Social Desirability Scale, and questions related to the importance of masculinity. Results showed that most participants valued the public appearance of masculinity; and they ideally wished to be more masculine than they felt they were (Cohen’s d = 0.42). A multiple regression analysis showed that the degree to which they valued masculinity and were concerned with violating masculine ideals was positively related with negative feelings about being gay (Cohen’s f2 = .67). These findings highlight the importance of exploring the role that masculine ideals play in gay client’s lives given that negative feelings about oneself can adversely affect psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Helping counselor trainees learn to respond consistently to anger and depression.

50 graduate students were randomly divided into 5 groups that were exposed to different kinds of videotaped counselor training procedures. The group of main interest was exposed to a training procedure that enabled the Ss 1st to verbally practice responding to client negative affect and then to observe a model counselor's response. When these Ss counseled either angry or depressed role-playing clients, they responded more consistently to client feelings than did Ss exposed to other training procedures. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Previous personal experience and reactions to depression and physical disability.

Conducted 2 experiments with 121 undergraduates to examine the effects of prior experience with people with disability on interpersonal reactions to depression expressed by a person with a disability. In the 1st study, Ss rejected further involvement with the depressed person and perceived this person to be socially impaired. In the 2nd study, Ss ascribed significantly more negative personal characteristics to the depressed person and evidenced more stereotypic attitudes toward persons with disability than Ss who viewed the nondepressed person. Results provide evidence that prior personal experience with people with disability does not moderate negative reactions to social displays of depressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dysfunctional attitudes are mood-state dependent.

To test the hypothesis that self-report of dysfunctional attitudes is mood-state dependent, dysfunctional attitudes were assessed in 43 women before and after they received a depressed or elated mood induction. As predicted, the mood induction produced reliable changes in mood and in dysfunctional attitudes, although the increase in dysfunctional attitudes following the negative mood induction was not large enough to be statistically significant. We also tested the hypothesis, from the cognitive theory of depression, that subjects with previous episodes of depression would report more dysfunctional attitudes than would subjects without such a history. As predicted, subjects who reported previous episodes of depression endorsed more dysfunctional attitudes than did subjects who did not report such a history. However, this effect occurred only for subjects who were in a negative mood state when their dysfunctional attitudes were assessed. These findings support the proposition of the cognitive theory that dysfunctional attitudes are traits but suggest that these traits are mood-state dependent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social comparison and depression: Company's effect on misery.

Two studies examined the social comparison processes of 50 depressed and 48 nondepressed college students selected on the basis of their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory. In the 1st study, Ss' preferences for information from others were assessed after they had received a manipulation intended to improve or worsen their mood states. The responses of the depressed Ss provide evidence of downward comparison: They indicate a preference for information from people who were experiencing negative affect, but only when they themselves were also experiencing relatively negative affect, not when their moods had been temporarily improved. In the 2nd study, Ss' moods were assessed before and after they had received information indicating another person was currently experiencing highly negative affect. This information had little effect on the nondepressed Ss; however, the mood states of the depressed Ss improved after they read the information. Results suggest that realizing that others are doing worse may help depressed persons to feel somewhat better. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with acceptance and decline of client gift giving.

Client gift giving is an interesting interpersonal event, and scholars have considered the ethical and clinical complexities involved in receiving gifts from clients. Attention to the cultural relations of client gift giving invites a more nuanced discussion of psychologists' decisions to accept or decline client gifts. In recognition of how cultural issues affect the therapeutic relationship, the American Psychological Association has instituted guidelines regarding multicultural competence and has urged psychologists to practice in a culture-centered manner. This article reviews the ethical decision making of 40 licensed psychologists to accept or decline gifts from clients. Results indicated that psychologists were more likely to accept gifts from clients when the gift was inexpensive, informed by cultural context, and presented with gratitude for good work at the end of psychotherapy treatment. Psychologists were more likely to decline gifts that were expensive, were presented during treatment rather than at the end of treatment, and had sentimental or coercive value. Two psychologists indicated they would not accept client gifts because they perceived gift acceptance to be a violation of their code of ethics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical issues in the treatment of weight-dissatisfied clients.

A number of ethical issues must be considered in the treatment of clients who are dissatisfied with their weight. Current societal attitudes of opprobrium toward fat affect psychologists as well as the general public, and may have deleterious effects on the ability to provide competent, responsible, and respectful help to large clients, particularly women. Psychologists should be aware that weight status has a large biogenetic component and that dieting is remarkedly ineffective in producing long-term weight loss. Professionals tend to overestimate the harmful effects of obesity and underestimate the negative impact of dieting on physical and psychological functioning. It is proposed that psychologists accept diversity of body size as a manifestation of human differences, promote overall health over thinness, and help clients become self-accepting instead of self-depriving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The management of sexual feelings in therapy.

This research project examined the incidence, experience, salient features, and management of sexual attraction between psychologists and clients and assessed 386 American Psychological Association member psychologists who work in university counseling centers. Only 12% reported never having been attracted to any client, and 96% never had acted out sexually against a client. Almost half reported that their feelings of attraction benefited the therapy process, and 43% reported negative consequences. 60% sought consultation or supervision to discuss this attraction. The results of this study support the need for increased awareness and education in this area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Professional skepticism of multiple personality disorder.

If you saw a patient who appeared to have more than one personality, what diagnosis would you make? And how would you vary your clinical approach? Data from 425 respondents indicated that the majority of psychologists believed multiple personality disorder (MPD) to be a valid but rare clinical diagnosis. Respondents cited extreme child abuse as the foremost cause of MPD. Approximately one-half of all respondents believed that they had encountered a client with MPD, whereas less than one-third believed that they had encountered a client who feigned MPD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethics and the invisible psychologist.

Psychologists have historically conducted research, taught, and provided human services directly with and for people who could readily identify the providers as psychologists. Increasingly, psychologists find themselves engaged in supplying consulting services that affect the lives of many people but take place without public scrutiny or identification. In these situations, the client may be a nonprofit agency, corporation, or government entity, but the effects of the psychologist’s work may have rippling consequences that affect many individuals’ lives profoundly. The ethical responsibility of such invisible psychologists may extend to members of the public not typically considered clients of the psychologist and raise particular concerns when the net result has adverse consequences for individuals or society. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for Domestic Violence: Recommendations Based on a Practice Survey.

How do practicing psychologists identify female victims of domestic violence? When asking about harm to self and others, do they also ask if the client is in danger of being harmed by another in an intimate relationship? A national survey of practicing psychologists revealed that 95% agreed that it is their responsibility to assist victimized clients, but fewer than 19% routinely screen for domestic violence. Psychologists report several barriers to screening at intake, which coupled with low screening rates, suggest that psychologists are missing important opportunities to assist clients who are at risk for assault. Several recommendations designed to improve psychologists' screening rates for domestic violence are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nurse and patient reactions to social displays of depression.

Examined the interpersonal responses of 27 nurses and 27 hospitalized patients with chronic medical conditions to a target who appeared either to have a chronic physical impairment or to be able-bodied, and who enacted either a depressed or nondepressed role. It was predicted that while nurses and patients would have negative reactions to the depressed targets, patient reactions to the depressed target with a physical impairment would be less negative than nurse reactions on the basis of perceived similarity. Results indicated that both groups had negative perceptions of the depressed targets. The similarity hypothesis, however, was not explicitly supported. The reactions of health-care staff to depressed medical patients may reinforce the patients' depressive behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Therapist homophobia, client sexual orientation, and source of client HIV infection as predictors of therapist reactions to clients with HIV.

Four hundred twenty-five psychologists received vignettes depicting a male client who was either gay or heterosexual and whose source of HIV infection was sexual contact, a blood transfusion, intravenous drug use, or unspecified. Respondents' homophobia and reactions to the client in the vignette were measured. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that therapist attributions of client responsibility for problem cause were predicted by the source of HIV infection and therapist homophobia. In addition, therapists responded with less empathy, attributed less responsibility to the client for solving his problems, assessed the client's functioning to be worse, and were less willing to work with the client when the client's source of HIV infection was other than drugs, when the client was gay, and when therapists were more homophobic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of sign language interpreter and therapist moods on deaf recipient mood.

This study questions how the mood and affective reactions of the interpreter and the therapist affect the therapeutic process. Professional sign language interpreters are trained to be impartial conduits who neither add nor subtract from the primary dyadic relationship. This study revealed that despondent interpreter mood caused significant negative mood changes in the deaf participant even when the therapist mood was neutral/cheerful. Practicing psychologists need to consider the susceptibility of deaf clients to the nonverbal mood presentation of sign language interpreters and its implications on the therapeutic alliance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social exchanges and subjective well-being among older Chinese: Does age make a difference?

The authors examined the effects of social support and negative interactions on life satisfaction and depressed affect among older Chinese, and age differences in these associations. The sample consisted of 2,943 Chinese elders who were 60-94 years of age. Structural equation modeling results suggest that both social support and negative interactions have significant contributions to life satisfaction and depressed affect. Social support has stronger effects than negative interactions on life satisfaction; their effects on depressed affect are comparable. Further, depressed affect of old-old (70+ years) Chinese reacts more strongly to both social support and negative interactions than the young-old (60-69 years). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)