Racial and attitudinal factors affecting the perceptions of counselors by Black adolescents.

Presented to 247 Black male and female high school students racial and attitudinal information about a hypothetical male or female counselor and asked them to express their perceptions of the counselor. Attitudinal information about a counselor had a stronger effect than racial information on Ss' perception of the counselor: Counselors portrayed as attitudinally similar were rated significantly higher in attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertness, and social attraction than those portrayed as attitudinally dissimilar. Racial information also influenced perceived attractiveness: White counselors were rated higher than Black ones in attractiveness, although there was no difference in ratings of trustworthiness or expertise. White female counselors were perceived as more expert than their Black female counterparts, whereas the ratings of male counselors were not influenced by the racial variable. Implications for counselor–client relationships and the development of mental health services for minority populations are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor content orientation, counselor race, and Black women's cultural mistrust and self-disclosures.

100 Black women (aged 17–23 yrs) were exposed to Black or White female counselors who used verbal statements reflective of either a cultural or a universal content orientation. The effects of counselor content orientation, counselor race, and participants' cultural mistrust levels on the frequency and depth of participant self-disclosures, ratings of counselor credibility, and willingness to self-refer were examined. Counselor content orientation related significantly to depth of disclosure and willingness to self-refer, with participants revealing more intimately and reporting a greater willingness to return to counselors when exposed to the cultural as opposed to the universal content orientation. Lower cultural mistrust levels also were related to a greater number of disclosures with Black counselors. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor intake judgments about White and Black clients in a university counseling center.

Compared counselor intake judgments about White and Black clients at a university counseling center. 1,078 White and 42 Black clients were randomly assigned to 1 of 13 counselors (11 Whites, 2 Blacks), who rated the clients on 11 variables. Counselors reported significantly higher ratings only on the judged potential for change in Black clients when compared with that in White clients. Ratings in the type and severity of presenting problem, client anxiety level, ease of expression, motivation, realism of goals, and physical appearance were not significantly different. Counselors' feelings about clients and the predicted number of counseling sessions were also similar for Black and White clients. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural mistrust and its effects on expectational variables in Black client-White counselor relationships.

In a previous analog study by C. E. Watkins and F. Terrell (see record 1988-36489-001), it was found that highly mistrustful Blacks assigned to White rather than to Black counselors generally had lower expectations of counseling. To extend this earlier study, we examined the effects of cultural mistrust on Blacks' expectations about counselor credibility and counselor competence and their willingness to see someone like the described counselor for counseling. In a 2 (subject sex)?×?2 (subject mistrust level)?×?2 (counselor race) factorial design, subject mistrust level and counselor race interacted significantly on several dependent variables. In comparison to Blacks low on mistrust, highly mistrustful Blacks regarded the White counselor as less credible and less able to help them with four problem areas: general anxiety, shyness, inferiority feelings, and dating difficulties. The implications of the findings of Black client–White counselor relationships are discussed, and the further need for counselors to be aware of the cultural mistrust issue is emphasized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Duration, satisfaction, and perceived effectiveness of cross-cultural counseling.

The relationship between cultural dissimilarity and the duration, satisfaction, and perceived effectiveness of counseling was studied in the context of 70 actual treatment dyads that varied as to the race of the counselor and the client (White or non-White). White counselors provided fewer sessions than non-White counselors, and non-White clients expressed lower levels of overall satisfaction with counseling, regardless of counselor race. No differences in counseling effectiveness were observed as measured by counselor and client ratings of perceived relief, understanding, and coping. Relative to other treatment dyads, however, White clients seeing White counselors attributed their change more to counseling than to other, outside factors. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mistrust level and its effects on counseling expectations in Black client-White counselor relationships: An analogue study.

Black clients' high dropout rates from counseling with White counselors are often explained by the clients' lack of trust for Whites. This analogue study examined the effects of cultural mistrust on counseling expectations for Black clients assigned to both Black and White counselors. Subjects completed the Cultural Mistrust Inventory (an inventory designed to measure Blacks' mistrust of Whites) and the Expectations About Counseling questionnaire. In a 2 (subject sex)?×?2 (subject mistrust level)?×?2 (counselor race) factorial design, client mistrust level interacted significantly with counselor race. When assigned to a White instead of a Black counselor, highly mistrustful Blacks expected the counselor to be less accepting, trustworthy, and expert; they also expected less in terms of counseling outcome. We discuss the possible implications of these findings for counseling practice and the need for White counselors to be sensitive to the cultural mistrust issue when working with Black clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of observer ratings of multicultural counseling competence in Black, Latino, and White American trainees.

Using transcribed intake sessions of 52 counselor–client dyads, this study explored the relative contributions of (a) counselor and client race or ethnicity, (b) counselor–client racial or ethnic match, (c) previous academic training in multicultural counseling, and (d) self-reported multicultural counseling competence to observer ratings of trainees' multicultural counseling competence. Results revealed that (a) Black American and Latino American counselor trainees were rated as more multiculturally competent than their White American peers, and (b) prior multicultural training was positively predictive of observer-rated multicultural counseling competence. Implications of the findings for counselor training and practice are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of Black students' racial identity attitudes on preferences for counselor's race.

Racial identity attitudes derived from W. E. Cross' (1971) racial identity model and respondents' racial self-designations were used to predict 92 Black university students' preferences for Black and White counselors. Ss completed the Assessment in Career Decision Making Scale, a counselor preference scale, and a racial identity scale. Multiple regression and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Racial attitudes accounted for a significant percentage of the variance involving preferences for counselor's race. Of the 4 types of attitudes measured (preencounter, encounter, immersion–emersion, and internalization), preencounter attitudes were most strongly associated with a preference for White counselors and a nonacceptance of Black counselors. The other 3 types of attitudes were associated with varying degrees of preference for Black counselors and nonacceptance of White counselors. Racial self-designation (e.g., Black, Negro, Afro-American) was not associated with preferences for either Black or White counselors. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of client preference and expectancy upon the initial interview.

Used a 2 * 3 design with 10 Ss per cell to show how initial counseling interview process and outcome are affected by (a) assigning clients to either more preferred or less preferred counselors; (b) giving clients either positive, nonexistent, or negative expectancy inductions regarding their counselor assignments; and (c) congruence and incongruence between clients' expectations and experiences. Process and outcome were assessed using client and counselor self-report measures and audiotape segment ratings. More preferred assignment conditions received more favorable tape ratings than did less preferred assignment conditions. Positive or no-expectancy conditions revealed a more favorable counseling outcome than did negative expectancy conditions. Most Ss showed increased preferences for counselors seen despite congruence or incongruence between their expectations and experiences. (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of race and socioeconomic status on the perception of process variables in counseling.

Analyzed the effects of race and socioeconomic status (SES) on the perception of process variables in counseling, including judged counselor empathy, judged counselor–client cognitive similarity, and attraction. The study used a 2?×?12?×?2?×?6 design (race of S, tape order, SES of client, race of counselor and client) with repeated measures on the SES of client variable and the race of counselor and client variable. Following empathy training, 12 Black and 12 White undergraduate middle-class males listened to 12 specially prepared counselor–client taped dialogs and rated the counselor and client on each tape on the process variables being researched. All hypotheses were confirmed. Both Black and White Ss gave highest counselor empathy ratings, client–counselor attraction and cognitive similarity ratings, and client improvement ratings to matchings in which the counselor and client were similar over race and social class, and they gave lowest ratings when the counselor and client were dissimilar over race and social class. Effects of client accent were generally not significant. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black students' counselor preference and attitudes toward counseling center use.

Surveyed 42 female and 33 male Black college students to determine factors related to Black student use of the university counseling center. Counselor preference, sex of client, sex of counselor, race of counselor, and type of problem were analyzed as to their effects on counseling center use. Results indicate that Black clients preferred Black counselors and that the likelihood of taking a problem to the counseling center increased as counselor preference increased. Also, the likelihood of taking a problem to the center was significantly greater if the counselor to be seen was Black rather than White. Client and counselor sex, and type of problem (personal or educational-vocational) had no effect on potential counseling center usage. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectations and preferences for counselor race and their relation to intermediate treatment outcomes.

The expectations and preferences of 26 White and 8 Black male veterans for the race of their counselor were investigated at the time the clients entered treatment in a midwestern outpatient mental health clinic. In addition, Ss' satisfaction with treatment, measured by a 3-factor self-rating scale and dropout status, were analyzed in relation to Ss' expectations and preferences for counselor race and the racial makeup of the treatment dyad. Results indicate that White and Black clients alike expected their counselor to be White. About half of the White Ss and half of the Blacks indicated that they had no preferences. However, the significant association between race and S preference for counselor race suggests that Ss expressing preferences preferred counselors of their own race. Dropout and satisfaction with treatment were not related to the nature of Ss' racial expectations and preferences or to the racial makeup of the treatment dyads. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A laboratory study of the effects of varying levels of counselor eye contact on client-focused and problem-focused counseling styles.

Studied the effects of varying durations of counselor eye contact over 2 counseling conditions: (a) client-focused counseling style, defined as the counselor focusing on the client's thoughts and feelings about the presenting problem; and (b) problem-focused counseling style, defined as the counselor focusing on the problems themselves. 60 female undergraduates observed videotaped segments of counseling interviews depicting 1 of 6 conditions involving either client-focused or problem-focused counseling styles and either low, medium, or high counselor eye contact. Ss then rated the counselor on 3 dimensions of counselor effectiveness: genuineness, competence, and self-confidence. Results show that counselors using both counseling styles were rated progressively higher on all 3 dimensions from the low- to the medium- to the high-gaze condition. In the problem-focused condition, the counselor was rated lower on the genuineness factor than either competence or self-confidence. When broken down by gaze levels, these differences did not hold up for the high level of eye contact. There were no significant differences between counselor ratings on the 3 dimensions of counselor effectiveness for the client-focused condition. Results are discussed with respect to related research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Counselor race and experience effects on black clients.

Investigated how black freshmen Ss rated counselor effectiveness and if these ratings reflected the race or experience level of the counselors. 17 Ss participated in initial interviews with 4 counselors, 2 black counselors, 1 experienced and 1 inexperienced, and 2 white counselors, with the same experience differences as the black counselors. Upon completion of the 4 interviews, Ss rated each of the counselors on 3 counselor dimensions and indicated those counselors they would be willing to return to for future counseling. Unlike previous research findings, Ss did not show a preference for the counselors as a function of race but did show a preference as a function of the counselors' experience level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of expert and referent influence, physical attractiveness, and gender on perceptions of counselor attributes.

Investigated the predictions of social influence theory with respect to Ss' perceptions of counselors' professional and personal attributes and Ss' evaluations of the counselors. Expert and referent power bases and influence attempts were crossed with levels of counselor physical attractiveness together with S and counselor gender in a counseling analog. 64 male and 64 female undergraduates viewed 1 of 8 videotaped simulated counseling interviews and completed rating forms assessing their perceptions and evaluations. Analyses supported social influence theory in that (a) expert conditions produced higher ratings of professional attributes than did referent conditions, (b) referent conditions produced higher ratings of personal attributes than did expert conditions, (c) congruent conditions (power base and influence attempt) produced higher ratings than did incongruent conditions on all measures, and (d) physical attractiveness mediated the effects of congruence for personal but not for professional attributes. No gender differences were present. Implications for the social influence process are discussed. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Errata: "Effects of Client Preference and Expectancy upon the Initial Interview".

Reports an error in the original article "Effects of Client Preference and Expectancy upon the Initial Interview" by Andris Ziemelis (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1974[Jan], 21[1], 23-30). On page 27, an error occurred in Table 1. The F value in the Expectancy column for the Client Satisfaction variable should read 1.19. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1974-26107-001.) Used a 2×3 design with 10 Ss per cell to show how initial counseling interview process and outcome are affected by (a) assigning clients to either more preferred or less preferred counselors; (b) giving clients either positive, nonexistent, or negative expectancy inductions regarding their counselor assignments; and (c) congruence and incongruence between clients' expectations and experiences. Process and outcome were assessed using client and counselor self-report measures and audiotape segment ratings. More preferred assignment conditions received more favorable tape ratings than did less preferred assignment conditions. Positive or no-expectancy conditions revealed a more favorable counseling outcome than did negative expectancy conditions. Most Ss showed increased preferences for counselors seen despite congruence or incongruence between their expectations and experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)