Multicultural Investigation of Counseling Expectations and Preferences

Abstract

The influences of ethnicity and presenting problem (career or relationship) on expectations about counseling and preferences for counselor ethnicity and gender among Asian international (AI), African-American (AA), and European-American (EA) university students (N = 69) were investigated. A 3 X 2 MANCOVA, with adjustments made for gender and treatment history, revealed a significant main effect for ethnicity. All three scales (personal commitment, facilitative conditions, and counselor expertise) of the Expectations About Counseling-Brief Form inventory were associated with this effect. AA and AI students reported lower expectations of personal commitment to the counseling process than EA students. AA students expected fewer facilitative conditions than AI students and less counselor expertise than AI and EA students. No significant effects were observed for presenting problem or the interaction of ethnicity and presenting problem. Chi-square test of independence found that ethnicity of students and their preferences for counselor ethnicity and gender were independent. Most students preferred counselors of the same ethnicity, thought there were no preferences for counselor gender.