Development and initial validation of the Multicultural Training and Education Questionnaire.

Abstract

Given the importance of culturally sensitive psychotherapy, it is necessary to identify training and education elements that foster the development of multicultural competence and multicultural orientation among trainees. Thus, in this article, we describe the development and initial validation of the Multicultural Training and Education Questionnaire (MTEQ). After generating an initial 98 items which underwent expert review, the preliminary measure was administered to a sample (N = 582) of psychotherapy trainees (n = 408) and professionals (n = 174). Exploratory factor analyses suggested that a one-, two-, three-, or four-factor structure best fit the data. Subsequently and based on the preliminary analyses, 38 of the original 98 items were administered to a second sample (N = 336) of trainees (n = 284) and professionals (n = 52). Participants (n = 269) additionally completed the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale, the Colorblind Racial Attitudes Scales, and the Research Training Environment Scale-Revised-Short Form. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a unidimensional latent factor structure for Multicultural Training and Education as well as four subscales: Importance of Modeling, Clinical Application, Self-Exploration/Awareness, and Education and Knowledge. The MTEQ further demonstrated good internal consistency as well as divergent and convergent validity. Thus, our results suggest that the MTEQ offers a viable way to operationalize and measure multicultural education and training. Implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Ignoring race and denying racism: A meta-analysis of the associations between colorblind racial ideology, anti-Blackness, and other variables antithetical to racial justice.

“…Data suggest that greater denial and distortion of racism are linked to lower levels of multicultural practice competencies among helping professionals (Spanierman et al, 2011). Specifically, consistent research findings indicate power evasion beliefs have significant medium-to-large associations with multicultural awareness among counselors (e.g., Neville et al, 2006;Wilcox et al, 2021), small-tomedium effects with multicultural knowledge among counselors (e.g., Chao et al, 2011;Neville et al, 2006;Wilcox et al, 2021) and teachers (e.g., Spanierman et al, 2011), and small-to-medium associations with general evaluations of multicultural practice competencies (e.g., Awad & Jackson, 2016;Chao et al, 2011;Spanierman et al, 2011).…”

Are Training Programs Addressing Anti-Black Racism and White Supremacy? A Descriptive Analysis

“…More specifically, participants (both students and faculty) who reported that their programs claimed to be more social justice-oriented also rated their programs higher in multicultural training in terms of clinical applications, modeling, self-awareness, and social justice norms, although interestingly, not in terms of multicultural knowledge. This is particularly important given that, on the scale used in the present study, the MTEQ (Wilcox, Gale, et al, 2022), most of the knowledge items are specifically framed in terms of systems-level knowledge (e.g., the mental health consequences of oppression [e.g., racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, xenophobia] were included in my graduate coursework). Thus, participants who rated their programs high in claiming to be social justice-oriented did not also rate their programs high in providing knowledge about oppressive systems.…”

“…To measure multicultural training at the individual level, faculty and students were asked to complete their respective version of the 22-item Multicultural Training and Education Questionnaire (MTEQ; Wilcox, Gale, et al, 2022). There are four subscales: Importance of Modelling (e.g., “My graduate training program makes clear in their written materials [e.g., handbook, website] that they consider multicultural training important.”), Clinical Application (e.g., “In my graduate program, I am/was encouraged to discuss multiculturalism with clients.”), Self-Exploration and Awareness (e.g., “My training program prompts/prompted the exploration of my own values as they relate to my clinical work.”), as well as, Education and Knowledge (e.g., “In my graduate program, I received education on social class and classism”).…”

“…The scale uses a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (s trongly disagree) to 5 (s trongly agree) . The scale demonstrated internal consistency, divergent, and convergent validity with psychology trainees and professionals (Wilcox, Gale, et al, 2022). The Cronbach’s alphas for the subscales in the current study were .92, .92, .91, and .88, respectively.…”

Effects of training on multicultural case conceptualization skills.

“…Multicultural training has increasingly emphasized developing critical self-awareness (Chao et al, 2011), embracing a multicultural orientation (Davis et al, 2018), and integrating liberation psychology (e.g., French et al, 2020). Most graduate programs lack an integrative model of multicultural training and designate one or two courses to this content (Rogers & O’Bryon, 2014; Wilcox et al, 2022). Limited integration is confounded by the reliance on self-report measures and prevalent focus on multicultural knowledge and awareness for the evaluation of MCC (T.…”