The Influence of Perceived Student Poverty on School Counselor Ratings of Client Disturbance and Attractiveness

Open Access
- Author:
- Hutchison, Brian
- Graduate Program:
- Counselor Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 10, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Dr Spencer G Niles, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Spencer G Niles, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Jerry G Trusty, Committee Member
Richard Hazler, Committee Member
Robert D Reason, Committee Member - Keywords:
- disturbance
attraction
school counseling
working alliance - Abstract:
- The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of perceived student poverty and academic preparation on school counselor ratings of student disturbance and attractiveness. Student disturbance and attractiveness are key indicators of the quality of the counseling relationship and working alliance. One hundred and seventy-three professional school counselors were sampled using convenience methods from on-line newsletters and discussion boards sponsored by professional organizations. Participants were presented with a case scenario including two documents, a new student registration form and student transcript, that were used to manipulate the independent variables student poverty and academic achievement. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was used to compare the mean differences of the dependent measure scores client disturbance and attractiveness while controlling for variance associated with gender and race/ethnicity. Results of this analysis found two main effects pertaining to the measure of the client attractiveness variable. First, school counselors were more likely to find students whom they perceived as poor attractive as clients. Second, school counselors were less likely to find students attractive as clients whom they perceived as less prepared academically. There has been little empirical study of the school counseling relationship and factors that contribute to a strong working alliance. This study suggests that counselor perceptions of status variables may impact their attraction to working with students. Limitations of this study and implications for practice and future research are discussed.