Implicit Attitudes of Counselor Trainees toward Black-White Couples Inter-racial couples developed as soon as European men landed on the coast of North America. Historically, these relationships were considered deviant and unacceptable. The attitudes towards interracial marriages are improving, however, the incidence of interracial dating and marriage, especially among Blacks and Whites, remains low in the United States (White & White, 2000). As the acceptance of interracial marriages increases, the rate of interracial marriages also increases. With the increasing number of inter-racial couples in the United States the probability that counselors will have contact with a Black-White couple increases also. It is important for the counselors to have accepting attitudes towards these couples to be effective in the treatment of these couples. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measured the implicit attitudes of the participants toward black-white couples. This study included a comparison of attitudes based on demographic factors such as sex, age, education, region of the US, socioeconomic status, home setting, and multicultural awareness and knowledge as measured by the Multicultural Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS). In addition, a multiple linear regression will determine which of these variables is best able to predict the participants’ attitudes. The results showed there is a significant difference in attitudes toward interracial couples between demographic subgroups of the variable age. However, there were no significant differences in attitudes between the subgroups of the variables education, socioeconomic status, sex, race, region of the country, community type and size. The regression analyses found MCKAS was the one variable that could predict scores on the IAT. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact a narrative reflecting team experience has on counselor self-efficacy. Through a quasi-experimental design, the use of a narrative reflecting team supervision model was compared to supervision as usual with graduate counseling students (N=12). The Counselor Self-Estimate Inventory (COSE) was chosen to assess self-efficacy pre and post 8 weeks of a reflecting team intervention and supervision as usual. Results from a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test indicate that an 8 week, 11/2 hour, narrative reflecting team experience did not elicit a significant change in counselor self-efficacy over supervision as usual. Counselor self-efficacy is an important concept to explore and emphasize as the field of counseling works to improve educational and supervision practices with developing counselors. The use of narrative techniques in a reflecting team supervision model, offers an alternative approach to supervision- an approach, which is a collaborative, empowering, and a re-storying experience for counselors in training. The research questions hierarchical, power and fear laden supervision models that negatively impact the efficacy of counselors in training. It further emphasizes a need to develop new practices, which support self-efficacy in new trainees, as their level of efficacy will impact how they will be with clients in the future. Results and suggestions for future research and practice are discussed. / Graduation date: 2013

Counselors and counselors-in-training are expected to provide affirmative and competent counseling services to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) clients. Counseling self-efficacy, a construct based on the tenets of social cognitive theory, is a useful framework to assess counselors’ perceptions regarding their competencies in providing such services. To date, little is known about factors that may either enhance or inhibit counselors’ LGB counseling self-efficacy beliefs. In the present investigation, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test two conceptually derived models consisting of predictors of counselor trainees’ LGB counseling self-efficacy beliefs. For the first model, trainees’ LGB focused personal, clinical, and training experiences, sexual identity exploration and commitment, attitudes towards LGB persons, and levels of lesbian and gay (LG) threat were examined in order to determine their levels of influence on counselor trainees’ LGB counseling self-efficacy. The second model was a mimic model that tested whether counselor trainees’ sexual orientation identities moderated the other variables’ influences on LGB counseling self-efficacy. The second model also examined differences in self-efficacy beliefs between heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants. These models were tested on 406 counselors-in-training who were recruited via the Internet. Using Structural Equation Modeling analyses it was found that LGB attitudes and LG threat both significantly and partially mediated the relationship between counselor trainees’ experiences and LGB counseling self-efficacy such that, for trainees’ with positive attitudes and lower LG threat, more experiences predicted higher LGB counseling self-efficacy. Sexual identity exploration and commitment, however, did not predict LGB counseling self-efficacy. The mimic model indicated that counselor trainees’ sexual orientation identities were a significant predictor of LGB counseling self-efficacy. It was also discovered that trainees’ experiences and LG threat remained significant predictors of self-efficacy while LGB attitudes did not. Finally, it was found that non-heterosexual trainees endorsed higher efficacy as compared to heterosexual trainees. A post-hoc analysis was conducted to determine whether sexual identity exploration and sexual identity commitment differentially impacted LGB counseling self-efficacy. Results suggested that sexual identity exploration fully mediated the relationship between counselor trainees’ experiences and self-efficacy. Yet, sexual identity commitment did not significantly impact self-efficacy. The findings from this investigation reveal the importance of counselor training and clinical experience on LGB counseling self-efficacy, as well as the importance of exploring barriers on LGB counseling self-efficacy. This study’s strengths, limitations, contribution to research, training, and practice are discussed, as are suggestions for future research. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services