Journal of Counseling Psychology

Best practices for missing data management in counseling psychology.
This article urges counseling psychology researchers to recognize and report how missing data are handled, because consumers of research cannot accurately interpret findings without knowing the amount and pattern of missing data or the strategies that were used to handle those data. Patterns of missing data are reviewed, and some of the common strategies for dealing with them are described. The authors provide an illustration in which data were simulated and evaluate 3 methods of handling missing data: mean substitution, multiple imputation, and full information maximum likelihood. Results suggest that mean substitution is a poor method for handling missing data, whereas both multiple imputation and full information maximum likelihood are recommended alternatives to this approach. The authors suggest that researchers fully consider and report the amount and pattern of missing data and the strategy for handling those data in counseling psychology research and that editors advise researchers of this expectation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
The development, evolution, and status of Holland’s theory of vocational personalities: Reflections and future directions for counseling psychology.
This article celebrates the 50th anniversary of the introduction of John L. Holland’s (1959) theory of vocational personalities and work environments by describing the theory’s development and evolution, its instrumentation, and its current status. Hallmarks of Holland’s theory are its empirical testability and its user-friendliness. By constructing measures for operationalizing the theory’s constructs, Holland and his colleagues helped ensure that the theory could be implemented in practice on a widespread basis. Empirical data offer considerable support for the existence of Holland’s RIASEC types and their ordering among persons and environments. Although Holland’s congruence hypotheses have received empirical support, congruence appears to have modest predictive power. Mixed support exists for Holland’s hypotheses involving the secondary constructs of differentiation, consistency, and vocational identity. Evidence of the continued impact of Holland’s theory on the field of counseling psychology, particularly in the area of interest assessment, can be seen from its frequent implementation in practice and its use by scholars. Ideas for future research and practice using Holland’s theory are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Effects of interest–major congruence, motivation, and academic performance on timely degree attainment.
Using longitudinal student data from 15 four-year (n = 3,072) and 13 (n = 788) two-year postsecondary institutions, the authors tested the effects of interest–major congruence, motivation, and 1st-year academic performance on timely degree completion. Findings suggest that interest–major congruence has a direct effect on timely degree completion at both institutional settings and that motivation has indirect effects (via 1st-year academic performance). The total effects of both interest–major congruence and motivation on timely degree completion underscore the importance of both constructs in understanding student adjustment and postsecondary success. Implications for theory and counseling practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Individuals and environments: Linking ability and skill ratings with interests.
Holland’s (1997) theory of corresponding person and work environment structures was evaluated by comparing the integration of individual and occupational ratings of interests, abilities, and skills. Occupational ratings were obtained from the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor, 2007). College students (494 women, 526 men) provided self-ratings of their interests, abilities, and skills. Property vector fitting was used to embed ability and skill ratings into the Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) interest structure, and bootstrapping was used to generate confidence intervals for the angles of the vectors and the magnitude of their fit to the Holland model. Across the individual and occupational ratings, 18 of 45 (40%) ability vectors and 41 of 48 (85%) skill vectors were fit into the RIASEC model. No significant gender differences were found in the integration of self-rated abilities and skills into the RIASEC circumplex; however, some differences were found between individual and environmental ratings. Obtained results highlight the potential utility and limitations of using Holland’s model for representing both individual and occupational data in a common structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Countertransference as a prototype: The development of a measure.
Countertransference is a concept that is widely acknowledged, but there exists little definitional consensus, making research in the area difficult. The authors adopted a prototype theory (E. H. Rosch, 1973a, 1973b; see C. B. Mervis & E. Rosch, 1981, for a review) to examine this construct because it conceptually fits well with constructs that elude explicit definition. In Study 1, 45 experienced psychologists highly agreed with the prototypicality of 104 different examples of countertransference providing support for the presence of a prototype. In Study 2, the usage of this prototype in a sample of 35 trainees was related to ability to perceive countertransference in a case example drawn from the literature and positively correlated with self-reports of their experiences of countertransference but not with their self-reported ability to manage countertransference once it was manifest. Implications for training and research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
The relationship between clients’ conformity to masculine norms and their perceptions of helpful therapist actions.
T. J. G. Tracey et al.’s (2003) common factors model derived from therapists and psychotherapy researchers has provided a parsimonious structure to inform research and practice. Accordingly, the current authors used the 14 common factor categories identified in Tracey et al.’s model as a guide to code clients’ perceptions of helpful therapist actions (e.g., intervention, way of being) in short-term psychotherapy. Next, they conducted a cluster analysis to establish meaningful subgroups of clients based on clients’ perceptions of helpful therapist actions. Finally, they explored if clients in these subgroups differed in their report of conformity to masculine norms. Clients (N = 161) from a university counseling center were recruited for the current study. Results revealed 3 clusters of clients based on their perceptions of helpful therapist actions: Insight (44%), Relationship (30%), and Information (26%). In contrast, Tracey et al. found 3 clusters: Bond (which includes Insight and Relationship), Information, and Structure of therapy (not found in the current study). Clients in the Insight and Relationship clusters reported more conformity to masculine norms as compared with clients in the Information cluster. There were no sex differences across clusters. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
The impact of racial identity, ethnic identity, Asian values, and race-related stress on Asian Americans and Asian international college students’ psychological well-being.
The present study investigated the direct and moderating effects of racial identity, ethnic identity, Asian values, and race-related stress on positive psychological well-being among 402 Asian American and Asian international college students. Results revealed that the racial identity statuses Internalization, Immersion-Emersion, Dissonance, Asian values, and Ethnic Identity Affirmation and Belonging were significant predictors of well-being. Asian values, Dissonance, and Conformity were found to moderate the relationship between race-related stress on well-being. Specifically, individuals in low race-related stress conditions who had low Asian values, high Conformity, and low Dissonance attitudes started high on well-being but decreased as race-related stress increased. These findings underscore the importance of how racial identity statuses, Asian values, and ethnic identity jointly and uniquely explain and moderate the effects of race-related stress on positive well-being. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Shame, internalized heterosexism, lesbian identity, and coming out to others: A comparative study of lesbians in mainland China and Hong Kong.
The purpose of this study was to investigate coming out to family and friends and their relationships to shame, internalized heterosexism, lesbian identity, and perceived social support in Chinese lesbians from 2 different cultural settings—Mainland China (N = 244) and Hong Kong (N = 234). Results of structural equation modeling showed that, in both samples, a sense of shame was related to internalized heterosexism and a devaluation of one’s lesbian identity, which in turn was related to a decreased likelihood of coming out to others. Shame was also associated with a reduced perception of support from friends, which seemed in turn to exacerbate internalized heterosexism among lesbians. Family support was generally unrelated to outness, except for outness to friends in the Hong Kong sample. Results are discussed in relation to the cultural stigma attached to same-sex orientation and the cultural practice of shaming that parents use to socialize children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Underlying mechanisms in the relationship between Africentric worldview and depressive symptoms.
This study examines underlying mechanisms in the relationship between an Africentric worldview and depressive symptoms. Participants were 112 African American young adults. An Africentric worldview buffered the association between perceived stress and depressive symptoms. The relationship between an Africentric worldview and depressive symptoms was mediated by perceived stress and emotion-focused coping. These findings highlight the protective function of an Africentric worldview in the context of African Americans’ stress experiences and psychological health and offer promise for enhancing African American mental health service delivery and treatment interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
A preliminary report on a new measure: Internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4) and its psychological correlates among Asian American college students.
This investigation is a preliminary report on a new measure of internalization of the model minority myth. In 3 studies, there was evidence for the validation of the 15-item Internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4), with 2 subscales. The Model Minority Myth of Achievement Orientation referred to the myth of Asian Americans’ greater success than other racial minority groups associated with their stronger work ethics, perseverance, and drives to succeed. The Model Minority Myth of Unrestricted Mobility referred to the myth of Asian Americans’ greater success than other racial minority groups associated with their stronger belief in fairness of treatment and lack of perceived racism or barriers at school or work. The 2-subscale structure of the IM-4 was supported by a combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, with support of discriminant, convergent, and incremental validity, as well as internal reliability and stability over 2 weeks. The IM-4 is a new measure that taps into a uniquely racialized experience of Asian Americans with research and clinical implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
“Interpreting the interest-efficacy association from a RIASEC perspective”: Correction.
Reports an error in "Interpreting the interest–efficacy association from a RIASEC perspective" by Patrick Ian Armstrong and David L. Vogel (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2009[Jul], Vol 56[3], 392-407). In the article, an incorrect value was reported for the correlation between Artistic and Social occupational interests in Table 1 (p. 400), incorrect values were reported for some of the fit indices presented in Table 2 (p. 402), and incorrect values were reported for the fit indices presented in Table 5 (p. 404). The correct value for the correlation between Artistic and Social occupational interests is r = .44. Attached are the fit indices that are correct for the Structural Equation Models presented in Table 2 and Table 5. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-10122-005.) Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) defines self-efficacy as the critical variable that influences the development of career-related beliefs and attitudes, including interest. In comparison, the authors propose that J. L. Holland’s (1997) theory of Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional (RIASEC) types can be interpreted as supporting an alternative model in which both interest and self-efficacy are components of an individual’s vocational identity. Meta-analytic research indicates that RIASEC-based measures of interest and self-efficacy are positively correlated, but these results are also interpreted as supporting the distinctness of the two constructs. The present study evaluates links between interest and self-efficacy with occupation- and activity-based measures of interest and self-efficacy. Multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and structural equation modeling results suggest that observed correlations between interest and self-efficacy measures can be attributed to shared Holland-type characteristics of the measures. These results support a Holland-based integrated model of individual differences, with both interest and self-efficacy indicators of RIASEC types, thereby raising questions about the ordering of self-efficacy and interest measures in the SCCT model but also highlighting the importance of assessing both constructs in applied settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
Developing a screening instrument and at-risk profile for nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior in college women and men.
Archival data (N = 1,048 women, 1,136 men) from a mental health survey of college students were used to investigate incidence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), including cutting. Significant levels (defined as 4–5 lifetime incidents) were found in 9.3% of women and 5.3% of men. The Counseling Center Assessment for Psychological Symptoms (a global symptom inventory) and an assessment of trauma had been field tested with this sample. We randomly partitioned half of these data into a holdout sample and used the remainder to develop an NSSI screening inventory that included (a) 5 women’s screening items, including 1 item to assess trauma experienced; (b) 11 men’s screening items; and (c) 12 items common to men and women, including depression, dissociation, anger, unwanted thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, and having witnessed trauma. Logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis suggested the inventory significantly discriminated NSSI men and women in the holdout sample, p <.001. Cutoff scores were identified to correctly classify about 48% of the true positive male and female NSSI cases, with false positive rates of 13.2% and 8.4% for women and men, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)

Journal of Counseling Psychology - Vol 57, Iss 1