Quantitative Study of Counselor Cultural Competence, Implicit Racial Bias, and Race
[Thesis]
Perkins-Muhammad, M. Jeannelle
Whiddon, Jana
Capella University
2020
155 p.
Ph.D.
Capella University
2020
The purpose of this correlational study was to ascertain if statistically significant mean differences existed between races of mental health counselors for cultural competence as measured by the Multicultural Awareness Knowledge and Skill Survey (MAKSS) and implicit racial bias as measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT). It also pursued an examination of any statistically significant relationship that existed between the scores of cultural competence as measured by the MAKSS and implicit racial bias as measured by the IAT within each racial category. The study addressed the gap in research that had not evaluated self-reported cultural competence and implicit bias solely with a 'Black/White' IAT. The criterion variables were cultural competence and implicit bias. The predictor variable was the self-identified race of the mental health counselor. This nationwide, web-based study was completed by 59 licensed mental health counselors over age 18. There were two research questions for this study. The first research question was: is there a statistically significant mean difference between the races (African Americans, Euro-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, or Other) of mental health counselors for cultural competence as measured by the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey and implicit racial bias as measured by the Black/White Implicit Association Test? The second research question was: is there a statistically significant relationship between the scores of cultural competence as measured by the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills Survey and implicit racial bias as measured by the Black/White Implicit Association Test within each racial category? A one-way MANOVA and correlations were employed to analyze the data collected. Finding a significant statistical difference required a post-hoc to determine where differences might lie in the components of the MAKSS or IAT. The null hypothesis was rejected for the overall total cultural competence on the MAKSS and racial preference on the IAT. The null hypothesis was rejected for Euro-Americans as they demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between the MAKSS and IAT. Final analysis provided recommendations for counselor education and supervision professionals to use in education and supervision in the development of future mental health counselors.