Multicultural counseling competencies: Verbal content, counselor attributions, and social desirability.

Abstract

This study investigated the validity of 2 instruments designed to measure the multicultural counseling competencies (MCC). Fifty-five counselors participated in a counseling simulation involving a videotaped portrayal of a female Mexican American client at a predominantly White university. Counselors made attributions about the causes of the client's problem and completed a self-report MCC scale and a social desirability scale. Independent judges evaluated counselors' verbal responses for multicultural content and observed MCC. Results indicate that (a) there was little relation between self-and other-rated MCC, in which only self-reported MCC knowledge was a predictor of observed MCC; (b) self-reported MCC was positively associated with social desirability; and (c) observed MCC was positively associated with sociocultural etiology attributions, external locus of the cause attributions, and multicultural verbal content. Concern over the applicability of generic counseling methodshas become a critical focus of theory, training, and research inquiry over the past 20 years as counseling psychologists have prepared for rapid social changes in the cultural milieu of the United States. The Education and Training Committee of Division 17 of the American Psychological Association (Sue et al., 1982) established a set of cross-cultural counseling competencies they recommended as accreditation criteria for training programs in professional psychology. The original 10 cross-cultural counseling competencies were expanded by Sue, Arredondo, and Mc-

Development and initial validation of the Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale--Racial Diversity Form.

“…A more recent study also provided similar evidence for the internal consistency reliability of the MCI (Worthington et al, 2000).…”

“…Bandura (1997) (Constantine & Ladany, 2001;Sue, 2001;Sue et al, 1982;Sue et al, 1992); (b) models of multicultural counseling (D'Andrea & Daniels, 2001;Fuertes & Gretchen, 2001;Ponterotto et al, 2000); (c) assessment of multicultural counseling competence (Coleman, 1996;D'Andrea et al, 1991;LaFromboise et al, 1991;Ponterotto et al, 2002;Sodowsky et al, 1994;Worthington, Mobley, Franks, & Tan, 2000); and (d) training of multicultural competencies (Abreu et al, 2000;Constantine, 2001a;Constantine & Ladany, 2000;Constantine, Ladany, Inman, & Ponterotto, 1996;Ponterotto & Casas, 1987;Quintana & Bernal, 1995). In addition to the progress made in theory and assessment, a recent survey indicated that 73% of APA-accredited counseling psychology programs offered one or more multicultural courses, and 42% of them required a multicultural course (Quintana & Bernal, 1995).…”

Client and Practitioner Perspectives on Multicultural Counseling Competence

“…Indeed, findings suggest no statistically significant relation between self-reported multicultural competence and written multicultural case conceptualization ability, a measure of demonstrated multicultural competence (Constantine & Ladany, 2000;Ladany et al, 1997) or observer ratings of multicultural competence (Worthington, Mobley, Franks, & Tan, 2000). Such concerns have raised questions about the completeness and accuracy of current models and have led to suggestions that client input may also play an important role in furthering understanding of multicultural counseling competence (Fuertes et al, 2001;Pope-Davis et al, 2001 Cultural Sensitivity), factor analysis suggests that it measures only one factor (LaFramboise et al, 1991).…”

“…Research has shown that self-ratings on multicultural competence scales do not correlate with observer measures of cultural competence (Worthington et al, 2000) or with multicultural case conceptualization ability (Constantine & Ladany, 2000;Ladany et al, 1997). Although minimal research has been done in this area, self-report measures have not been found to correlate with any other measures of multicultural counseling competence currently available, indicating that the constructs assessed through these measures differ by respondent.…”

Counselors' Attributions of Blame Toward Female Survivors of Battering

“…Self-report measures are often used in studies with vignettes. The difficulty with self-report measures lies in the risk of participants responding in a socially desirable manner (Worthington, Mobley, Franks, & Tan, 2000). Not only have studies of perceptions of IPV relied heavily on self-report measures, there has been a comprehensive lack of use of social desirability measures in these studies as well.…”