ERIC Number: EJ827069
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Jan
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0167
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Effects of Client Bisexuality on Clinical Judgment: When Is Bias Most Likely to Occur?
Mohr, Jonathan J.; Weiner, Jennifer L.; Chopp, Regina M.; Wong, Stephanie J.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, v56 n1 p164-175 Jan 2009
In this study, the authors investigated whether psychotherapist bias related to client bisexuality is most likely to occur with respect to judgments about stereotype-relevant clinical issues. Participants were 108 psychotherapists who read a fictitious intake report about a male client who was portrayed as heterosexual, gay, or bisexual. Client sexual orientation was behaviorally operationalized through reference to the sex of the client's present and previous romantic partners. Participants rated the case for the salience of a variety of clinical issues (some of which were related to bisexual stereotypes), global psychological functioning, and anticipated reactions to the client. Client sexual orientation had no effect for outcomes unrelated to bisexual stereotypes. In contrast, clinical issues related to bisexual stereotypes were rated as most salient to the case when the client was portrayed as bisexual rather than when the client was portrayed as heterosexual or gay. This effect remained significant even when participants' self-reported ability to avoid bias, self-presentational concerns, and response set related to perceptions of psychopathology were controlled for. Exploratory analyses suggested that this effect was partially mediated by stereotypes of bisexual men as confused and conflicted. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Sexual Orientation, Psychopathology, Homosexuality, Sexual Identity, Counseling Psychology, Counselor Attitudes, Psychotherapy, Stereotypes, Social Attitudes, Social Bias
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Author Affiliations: N/A