Race of counselor, client sex, cultural mistrust level, and premature termination from counseling among Black clients.

Abstract

Black clients, visiting a community mental health center for the first time were identified and administered an inventory designed to assess the extent to which they trust whites. Equal numbers of clients were then assigned to a black and to a white counselor for an intake interview. Hierarchical regression analyses were then used to examine the relation between the predictor variables of counselor's race, mistrust level, and clients' sex on the criterion variable of premature termination from counseling. Significant percentages of shared variance were found between termination rates and the predictor * variables of counselors' race and trust level as well as the interaction of counselor's race and trust level. No significant amount of shared variance was found between sex of clients and termination rates. Some implications for counseling are discussed.