Family Therapy Trainees’ Perceptions of Divorced Mothers: A Test of Bias in Information Recall

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate marriage and family therapy (MFT) trainees’ perceptions of divorced mothers relative to married mothers. We used a recall design in which participants recalled details from a vignette about either a divorced mother or a married mother. Participants were 74 students currently enrolled in five American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) accredited training programs in MFT. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that participants receiving the divorced‐mother vignette recalled significantly more unfavorable characteristics about her than did those participants receiving the married‐mother vignette. Implications for the training of marriage and family therapists and alerting mental health professionals to examine their own assumptions and biases about divorced mothers are included.