Exploring the association between color-blind racial ideology and multicultural counseling competencies

Cultur Divers Ethnic Minor Psychol. 2006 Apr;12(2):275-90. doi: 10.1037/1099-9809.12.2.275.

Abstract

The authors examined the association between color-blind racial ideology and self-reported multicultural counseling competencies in 130 applied psychology students and mental health workers. Results from 1 sample (n = 79) indicated that greater levels of color-blind racial ideology as measured by the Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000) were (1) related to lower self-reported multicultural counseling awareness and knowledge as measured by the Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS; Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Rieger, & Austin, 2002) and (2) accounted for a significant amount of variance in MCKAS scores over and above that explained by self-reported multicultural training, social desirability, and participant race. Findings from another sample also provided empirical support for the link between higher color-blind racial ideology and lower multicultural case conceptualization ability (n = 51), after controlling for the influence of the number of multicultural course(s) taken. Implications of the findings and future directions are provided.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Counseling*
  • Cultural Diversity*
  • Ethnicity*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Politics*
  • Professional Competence*
  • Social Desirability
  • Surveys and Questionnaires