An analysis of differences in attitudes of counselors toward older and younger clients
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of mental health counselors toward older and younger clients, investigating in particular the effect of the client's age on counselors' ratings of idealness, prognosis, and treatment recommendation. The test instrument consisted of four clinical vignettes constructed so that the age of the client served as the independent variable. The test instrument was mailed to 1,147 Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors (CCMHC's) which was the entire membership of the National Academy of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors (NACCMHC) at the time of mailing. The data reported in this study were based on 614 questionnaires (54% of the original sample). The student's t test was used to determine if there were differences between client's age and ratings of idealness and prognosis for client. Chi-square analysis was used to determine if there were differences in treatment recommendations between old and young clients. Finally, a repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine if there were any differences related to various demographic characteristics of the respondents. There were significant differences between the client's age and counselors' ratings of idealness and prognosis. CCMHC's gave significantly higher ratings on idealness and prognosis to younger clients than older clients. There was no significant difference between the client's age and counselors' ratings on treatment recommendations. Results of the research also indicated interaction effects of counselor age, training and theoretical orientation with age of client and client diagnosis on counselors' ratings of idealness and prognosis.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Dye, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Academic guidance counseling|Psychotherapy
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