Belle Liang

Training Counseling Psychologists as Social Justice Agents Feminist and Multicultural Principles in Action

Despite recent calls for counseling psychology to embrace social justice-oriented work, there has been little discussion about what such work actually looks like. The first part of this article derives a set of principles from feminist and multicultural counseling theories that counseling psychologists should consider as they engage in social justice work. These include (a) ongoing self-examination,(b) sharing power, (c) giving voice, (d) facilitating consciousness raising, (e) building on strengths, and(f) leaving clients the tools to work toward social change. The second part of the article describes a program designed to integrate social justice work into the core curriculum of the Boston College doctoral program. The authors discuss ways in which the above principles have shaped students; activities, and some of the ethical dilemmas that have emerged. Finally, the article under-scores professional obstacles that counseling psychologists doing social justice work are likely to face, and offers recommendations for overcoming them.

Mentoring College-Age Women: A Relational Approach

Despite the popularity of mentoring programs, the relational dimension of mentoring has not been elucidated. Traditional conceptions of mentoring may exclude factors that are particularly important for women and girls, thus limiting the efficacy of mentoring programs for female adolescents. We suggest that the presence of relational qualities in the mentoring relationship (e.g., empathy, engagement, authenticity, and empowerment) strongly influences the success of mentoring in the lives of young women. In this study, we use a promising new measure of mentoring, the Relational Health Index – Mentor, to explore the impact of relational aspects of mentoring in female college students. We found that mentoring relationships high in relational qualities were associated with higher self-esteem and less loneliness.

THE RELATIONAL HEALTH INDICES: A STUDY OF WOMEN'S RELATIONSHIPS

A new measure of womens relationships, the Relational Health Indices (RHI), comprises three scales that assess growth-fostering connections with peers, mentors, and communities. The RHI was developed using the Relational Model (Jordan, Kaplan, Miller, Stiver, Surrey, 1991; Miller & Stiver, 1997), a theory of womens psychological development. The 37-item measure assesses three conceptual dimensions of growth-fostering relationships: engagement, authenticity, and empowerment/zest. This study examined the psychometric properties of the RHI with a group of 450 students at a womens liberal arts college, providing evidence for the reliability, validity, and utility of the new measure. The factor analyses confirmed a three-subscale structure: engagement, authenticity, empowerment/zest. The RHIs components generally demonstrate good overall internal consistency. Furthermore, associations between RHI scales and convergent validation scales were significant and in the direction hypothesized. Correlations with adjustment scales varied across the RHI components. The RHI has potential for enriching our understanding of important, subtle qualities and complex dynamics of both dyadic and group relationships, especially among women. The instrument is available for use by researchers interested in continuing the scale and theory development.

Culture, control, and coping: New perspectives on social support

Researchers have offered various explanations for inconsistent findings in the social support literature. Some contend that the detection of either buffering or direct effects depends on the mode of measurement. Others have demonstrated that person variables (e.g., locus of control) moderate support utilization during stressful times. This study attempts to integrate the issues of measure type, locus of control orientation, and cultural influence in a comprehensive study comparing Anglo-Americans and Chinese nationals. Measures appropriate for testing the stress-buffering model of social support were given to 198 students in a Midwestern university and 200 students in mainland China. Both measure type and locus of control orientation mediated the process of support utilization in each culture, but not in the same manner across cultures. For Anglos, stress-buffering effects of both perceived and received support were found only with internals. For Chinese, main effects and a buffering pattern from perceived support were found only with externals. The received support measure yielded negative buffering effects with the latter culture.

Relational Outcomes of Childhood Sexual Trauma in Female Survivors A Longitudinal Study

This longitudinal study examines the effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on the intimate and marital relationships of adult survivors from a sample composed primarily of African American women. In addition, the authors explore the protective role of maternal support. Interview data are collected on 136 women with documented histories of CSA who indicate the quality and nature of their current marital relationships and other interpersonal connections. Results suggest that CSA survivors with poor maternal attachment are more likely to enter into marital or cohabiting relationships. However, more severe sexual trauma in childhood correlates with greater marital dissatisfaction. Good maternal attachment during childhood has a negative main effect on adult interpersonal problems and a buffering effect on the relationship between abuse and marital dissatisfaction. These data can help guide future research on the adult relational outcomes of female CSA survivors, especially among minority populations.

A multidimensional approach to the assessment of trauma impact, recovery and resiliency: Initial psychometric findings

Abstract This paper describes the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resiliency Scale (MTRR), a Likert-type questionnaire designed to assess trauma impact, recovery and resilience on each of eight domains of psychological functioning (Harvey, 1996). An initial series of four studies examined the psychometric properties of the MTRR when used by clinicians rating their patients or by clinical researchers rating co-conducted standardized clinical interviews (MTRR-Is). Findings indicate that the MTRR demonstrated reasonable inter-rater reliability with both clinical and clinical research samples. Internal consistency was sound and, in the clinical sample, the measure drew significant distinctions between patients differing in clinician-estimated recovery status. The implications and limitations of these preliminary findings are discussed. Current and planned inquiries are described.

Warts and All Personal Reflections on Social Justice in Counseling Psychology. Reply to Kiselica, Palmer, Thompson and Shermis, and Watts

In their comments regarding Goodman, Liang, Helms, Latta, Sparks, and Weintraub’s article “Training Counseling Psychologists as Social Justice Agents: Feminist and Multicultural Principles in Action,” Kiselica, Palmer, Thompson and Shermis, and Watts offered a number of useful suggestions for elaborating on social justice theory, practice, and training. Their reactions and feedback challenged Goodmanet al. to revisit and clarify their thinking about several related issues, including(a)the importance of student and faculty self-examination,(b)the need to ground our social justice theories and practice in organizing philosophies, (c) the difficulties of educating students about social justice work, and (e) the imperative to collaborate across professions. In this reply, the authors discuss each of these issues in turn, noting points of agreement and disagreement with their colleagues.

The Relational Health Indices for Youth: An Examination of Reliability and Validity Aspects

Relational health, a termed coined by Liang et al. (2001) to reflect Relational-Cultural Theory concepts, is the presence of growth-fostering characteristics in significant relationships. Although growth-fostering relationships have been conceptualized as relevant across the lifespan, existing research has mainly explored the experiences of college students and adults. In this study, the authors seek to create a developmentally appropriate instrument called the Relational Health Indices for Youth (RHI-Y) for studying growth-fostering relationships among early and mid-adolescents. This measure adapts the original adult RHI instrument for a younger population (i.e., utilizing a simpler vocabulary and containing fewer items). Measurement development resulted in six-item scales assessing relational health in three different relationship domains: friendships, relationships with an adult mentor, and relationships with members of a community group. Results indicate that the RHI-Y scales are valid, reliable measures of growth-fostering relationships. Preliminary findings about the correlates of relational health in youth are discussed.

The multidimensional trauma recovery and resiliency instrument : Preliminary examination of an abridged version

Abstract This paper describes two studies leading to the construction of and psychometric support for the MTRR-99, a shortened version of the Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resiliency Scale (MTRR-135, formerly MTRR). In the first study, the original body of MTRR-135 data was reevaluated to remove psychometrically weak or theoretically unnecessary items. The remaining 99 items were then assessed for reliability, validity, and internal consistency. In the second study, the new MTRR-99 was applied to assess the recovery status of 164 incarcerated women prisoners with extensive abuse histories. Together, these two studies further document the utility of a multidimensional approach to assessing trauma impact, recovery, and resiliency; in addition, they provide preliminary evidence for the MTRR-99 as a viable measure for use with clinical and non-clinical populations.

Expanding the Reach of Youth Mentoring: Partnering with Youth for Personal Growth and Social Change.

The goals of youth mentoring have broadened from redressing youth problems to promoting positive youth development. Yet, many of the principles associated with contemporary conceptualizations of development found in the positive youth development (PYD) and community psychology (CP) literature have yet to be fully integrated into mentoring research and practice. These approaches place greater emphasis on youth as assets to their communities and the promotion of positive development through the cultivation of these assets, often by fostering collaborative partnerships between youth and adults to effect social change. In this paper, we examine how bringing these systemic, asset-oriented approaches more fully to bear on the youth mentoring process creates opportunities that may both extend the reach and deepen the impact of youth mentoring through the promotion of community, social, and individual change.