No abstract

In this study the authors explored the relationship between five-factor model (FFM: Big Five) personality traits (J. M. Digman, 1990; R. R. McCrae & O. P. John, 1992; J. S. Wiggins & P. D. Trappnell, 1997) and universal-diverse orientation (UDO; M. L. Miville et al., 1999) in counselor trainees. FFM traits were measured using the NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992). Statistically significant relationships were found between UDO and one of the Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience) in counselor trainees. Further regression analysis suggested a relationship between UDO and a particular facet of Openness to Experience, Openness to Aesthetics. This finding suggests that counselor trainees who are open to the creative expressions of others may be comfortable working with a wide variety of clients. These results suggest that counselor training that encourages experiences of aesthetic diversity in addition to an exploration of values may promote trainees' ability to work with diverse clients.

We examined how culturally relevant variables, including universal-diverse orientation (UDO), an attitude characterized by awareness and acceptance of similarities and differences between self and others, and emotional intelligence, the ability to accurately monitor emotions, might be related to empathy. Two-hundred-and-eleven counseling graduate students completed measures of these variables, as well as a demographic sheet. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that UDO and emotional intelligence, along with gender, significantly explained variance in empathy. Implications for effective mental health counseling across diverse settings are discussed. Definitions and measures of empathy have existed since the late 19th century (Duan & Hill, 1996). Empathy is generally referred to as the ability or process of placing self in others' shoes, "as if one was the other person" (Rogers, 1959, p. 210). In a review of research on empathy, Duan and Hill (1996) reported that considerable debate has occurred regarding the definition and nature of empathy. For example, early theorists proposed that empathy was primarily an emotional response involving care and concern for others (Allport, 1961), whereas others emphasized cognitive

Differences in dispositional empathy between juvenile sex offenders, non-sex-offending delinquent juveniles, and nondelinquent juveniles were explored controlling for age and race. Participants were 81 males ranging in age from 13 to 18 from a southwestern state. Their scores on Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) were analyzed using a one-way randomized block multivariate analysis of variance. Postomnibus analyses included mean vector comparisons followed by univariate analyses comparing the means on each IRI subscale. Juvenile sex offenders and non-sex-offending delinquent juveniles scored significantly higher than nondelinquents on the Personal Distress subscale. Non-sex-offending delinquent juveniles scored significantly higher than the juvenile sex offenders on the Empathic Concern subscale.

Empathy (affective sensitivity) was hypothesized to be positively related to creativity and expressiveness and inversely related to dogmatism, when gender and age were controlled. Participants were 56 graduate students enrolled in counseling and educational psychology courses at a large southwestern (U.S.) university. Participants were administered the Affective Sensitivity Scale (Kagan & Schneider, 1977) to measure empathy, the Statement of Past Creative Activities (Bull & Davis, 1980) to measure creativity, the Opinion Scale (Kleiber, Veldman, & Menaker, 1973) to measure dogmatism, and the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence, Helmreich, & Holahan, 1979) to measure expressiveness. The results of multiple regressions provide support for the hypotheses that empathy is positively related to creativity and inversely related to dogmatism, but the results do not support the hypothesized positive relationship between empathy and expressiveness. Implications of these findings for persons serving as counselors and counselor educators are discussed.