Influence of social class perceptions on attributions among mental health practitioners

Objective: A vignette-based study assessed the influence of social class attributions toward a hypothetical client's difficulty. Method: 188 licensed mental health professionals who were recruited through professional listservs completed an online survey after reviewing one of two versions of a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychotherapy research 2014, Vol.24 (6), p.640-650
Main Authors: Thompson, Mindi, Diestelmann, Jacob, Cole, Odessa, Keller, Abiola, Minami, Takuya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
clinical impressions
Female
Humans
Male
Mental health
Middle Aged
Professional-Patient Relations
Psychotherapy - standards
Social Class
social class attributions
Social classes
Social Perception
vignette-based experimental design
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective: A vignette-based study assessed the influence of social class attributions toward a hypothetical client's difficulty. Method: 188 licensed mental health professionals who were recruited through professional listservs completed an online survey after reviewing one of two versions of a vignette describing a hypothetical client that varied based on social class cues. Results: As expected, this sample of licensed mental health practitioners detected social class differences based on the descriptors of the hypothetical client across the two vignettes. These perceived social class differences, however, did not impact participants' attributions toward the client for causing or solving her problems, level of Global Assessment of Functioning score ascribed to the client, or willingness to work with the client. Conclusions: There was no evidence that participants differentially ascribed attributions based on social class. Implications and directions for future research are provided.
ISSN:1050-3307
1468-4381
DOI:10.1080/10503307.2013.873556