Stephen M. Quintana

Implications of Recent Developments in Structural Equation Modeling for Counseling Psychology

We review recent developments in structural equation modeling (SEM) since Fassinger’s (1987) introductory article. We discuss issues critical to designing and evaluating SEM studies. Our review includes recent technological developments in SEM such as new approaches from hypothesis testing to determining statistical power and assessing model fit. Moreover, we discuss innovations in applying SEM to different research contexts and designs (e.g., experimental and longitudinal designs and interactions among latent variables). Finally, we discuss procedures for redressing common problems and misunderstandings in the application of SEM procedures to counseling research.

Racial and Ethnic Identity: Developmental Perspectives and Research.

Developmental research is reviewed to evaluate how race, ethnicity, racial identity, and ethnic identity are defined and investigated for minority populations. First reviewed is how these terms are used in developmental and counseling research. Early practices limited these terms to their demographic denotations (e.g., heritage), but more recent practices have expanded to include socially constructed connotations. Second, developmental research was used to evaluate key assumptions in theories of racial and ethnic identity development, with an emphasis on recent longitudinal studies. Research supports some, but not all, of these developmental predictions. Longitudinal research supported the progressive nature of ethnic and racial identity development and that exposure to racism appears to stimulate further identity development during adolescence. In contrast, available evidence does not support the claims of a developmental hierarchy for racial ideologies and that identity crises are normative. Adjustment was not predicted by a single racial or ethnic identity ideology, but research suggested that the adolescent’s sociocultural identity and socialization should be tailored to the nature of the racial and ethnic context for development. Implications for counseling research and practice are offered.

Culturally adapted psychotherapy and the legitimacy of myth: a direct-comparison meta-analysis.

Psychotherapy is a culturally encapsulated healing practice that is created from and dedicated to specific cultural contexts (Frank & Frank, 1993; Wampold, 2007; Wrenn, 1962). Consequently, conventional psychotherapy is a practice most suitable for dominant cultural groups within North America and Western Europe but may be culturally incongruent with the values and worldviews of ethnic and racial minority groups (e.g., D. W. Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992). Culturally adapted psychotherapy has been reported in a previous meta-analysis as more effective for ethnic and racial minorities than a set of heterogeneous control conditions (Griner & Smith, 2006), but the relative efficacy of culturally adapted psychotherapy versus unadapted, bona fide psychotherapy remains unestablished. Furthermore, one particular form of adaptation involving the explanation of illness-known in an anthropological context as the illness myth of universal healing practices (Frank & Frank, 1993)-may be responsible for the differences in outcomes between adapted and unadapted treatments for ethnic and racial minority clients. The present multilevel-model, direct-comparison meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies confirms that culturally adapted psychotherapy is more effective than unadapted, bona fide psychotherapy by d = 0.32 for primary measures of psychological functioning. Adaptation of the illness myth was the sole moderator of superior outcomes via culturally adapted psychotherapy (d = 0.21). Implications of myth adaptation in culturally adapted psychotherapy for future research, training, and practice are discussed.

Mexican American Children’s Ethnic Identity, Understanding of Ethnic Prejudice, and Parental Ethnic Socialization

Mexican American children in Grades 2 (n = 22) and 6 (n = 25) were interviewed about their understanding of ethnic prejudice and were administered two indices of ethnic identity (ethnic knowledge and ethnic behavior). Most of the children (n = 19) were third generation or later (no parent or grandparent born in Mexico), but 11 had at least one parent born in Mexico. Parents of the children were administered acculturation and ethnic socialization measures. Study results suggested that (a) parental ethnic socialization about ethnic discrimination was associated with children’s development of ethnic knowledge, (b) low levels of parental acculturation to Anglo norms were associated with children performing ethnic behaviors, and (c) children’s advanced understanding of ethnic prejudice was associated with high levels of ethnic knowledge and higher grade levels. These results support and extend Bernal, Knight, Garza, Ocampo, and Cota’s multifaceted model of ethnic identity: One aspect of ethnic identity (i.e., ethnic knowledge) was predictive of children’s understanding of ethnic prejudice, whereas another index (i.e., ethnic behavior) was not. Moreover, this study’s results support Quintana and Vera’s model of children’s developmental understanding of ethnic prejudice. This study suggests that children’s understanding of ethnic prejudice represents an important aspect of the development of Mexican American children.

Ethnic Minority Training in Counseling Psychology Comparisons with Clinical Psychology and Proposed Standards

This study evaluated the status of multicultural training in counseling programs approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) (n= 41) and compared these programs to (a) clinical psychology programs (n = 104) and (b) existing standards and recommendations proposed in literature, for example, by Bernal and Castro, and Ridley, Mendoza, and Kanitz. Results suggested that compared to clinical programs counseling psychology programs demonstrated significantly higher commitment to multicultural training. However, the effect size of the differences between these two psychology specialties was small. Moreover, normative data from counseling psychology programs indicated that most programs are providing training that leads to, at best, multicultural sensitivity, but very few appear to be providing training that prepares practitioners to be multiculturally proficient. Hence it was concluded that, although counseling psychology programs have potential to make significant contributions to the mental health of racial and ethnic minority populations, significant changes need to be made before these programs yield a critical number of counseling psychologists who can begin to meet the mental health needs of racial and ethnic minority populations. Suggestions and recommendations are made to guide these changes.

A model of ethnic perspective-taking ability applied to Mexican-American children and youth

Abstract A model is presented that characterizes a development of ethnic perspective-taking ability from preschool to early adulthood. This model was constructed from a model of social perspective-taking ability, previous research, and 97 interviews with Mexican-American children and youth aged 6 to 18 years. The proposed model is one of the first to integrate research on ethnic cognition in early childhood with research on racial/ethnic identity development during late adolescence and early adulthood. Five levels of ethnic perspective-taking ability applied to Mexican-American children are presented ranging from a physicaiistic perspective of ethnicity to a multicultural perspective of ethnicity.

Benefits of cultural exposure and development of Korean perspective-taking ability for transracially adopted Korean children.

This study investigated the benefits of cultural exposure for transracially adopted (TRA) Korean childrens developmental understanding of being Korean. Fifty TRA Korean children living in the United States were interviewed to assess their understanding of the implications of their Korean status for peer relations and personal identities, using a model of perspective-taking ability (PTA). Results showed cultural exposure and chronological age were significant predictors of childrens PTA for being Korean. Cultural exposure had a slightly stronger relationship with PTA development for younger children than older ones. Comparison with another sample suggested that nonadopted native Korean children in the United States for an average of 25 months achieved levels of PTA at earlier ages did TRA children but that level of cultural exposure mediated these age differences.

Guidelines for Meta-Analyses of Counseling Psychology Research

This article conceptually describes the steps in conducting quantitative meta-analyses of counseling psychology research with minimal reliance on statistical formulas. The authors identify sources that describe necessary statistical formula for various meta-analytic calculations and describe recent developments in meta-analytic techniques. The authors illustrate meta-analytic procedures with recently published meta-analyses in counseling psychology, and last, they provide a guide for writing up meta-analytic studies for publication.

Adolescent Egocentrism and Formal Operations: Tests of a Theoretical Assumption.

The theoretical relation between adolescent egocentrism and formal operations was addressed in two studies. In the first study this relation was assessed with the Adolescent Egocentrism Scale (AES) and a battery of formal reasoning tasks devised by Lunzer, administered to a sample of 6th-, 8th-, 1 Oth-, and 12th-grade subjects. The results revealed only significant negative or nonsignificant correlations between the measures in early adolescence. There was also no evidence of significant developmental covariation from early to middle adolescence. The validation effort was extended in Study 2 to include the two extant measures of adolescent egocentrism (AES and the Imaginary Audience Scale, or IAS) and a second battery of formal operations problems (Test of Logical Thinking). These measures were administered to a sample of 7th-, 9th-, and 1 lth-grade students and to a sample of college undergraduates. There was once again no evidence of significant developmental covariation among the measures. The correlations between the AES and IAS were modest, reflecting differences in the nature and content of the measures. Little support exists in this study or in the literature for the crucial theoretical assumption of adolescent egocentrism. Suggestions for future research are outlined.

Adolescent Attachment and Ego Identity: A Structural Equations Approach to the Continuity of Adaptation

The purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent relation between adolescent attachment to parents and the achievement of ego identity in late adolescence within a lifespan continuity of adaptation frame-work. Also examined were the contribution of parental control to the formation of attachment and the acquisition of ego identity. One-hundred one college freshmen responded to at least two measures (each) of parental attachment, ego identity, and maternal and paternal control. Model testing in a structural equations analysis showed that (a) there was no relation between adolescent attachment and ego identity; (b) adolescents who perceived that their parents were controlling reported weak attachment; and (c) adolescent identity achievement was inhibited by perceptions of high parental control. The first finding was discussed in terms of its implications for a lifespan theory of adolescent attachment and the continuity of adaptation framework. The latter two findings were discussed in terms of the growing literature on family dynamics and identity development. Implications for future research are drawn.