Racial/Ethnic Identity, Gender-Role Attitudes, and Multicultural Counseling Competence: The Role of Multicultural Counseling Training.

Since D. W. Sue et al. (1982) published their model of multicultural counseling competencies (MCC) almost 3 decades ago, the development of the MCC model provided the blueprint and theoretical framework for multicultural training (Arredondo et al., 1996; D. W. Sue, Arredondo, & McDavis, 1992; D. W Sue & Sue, 1990, 2008). After these landmark contributions, the call for MCC has been formalized in program accreditation standards (American Counseling Association [ACA], 2005; American Psychological Association [APA], 1986), mental health provider guidelines (APA, 2003), and licensing regulations (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, 2001). Furthermore, MCC is viewed as a cornerstone of ethical practice (Arredondo & Toporek, 2004). Despite these critical developments over the years, some researchers (e.g., Atkinson & Israel, 2003; Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Rieger, & Austin, 2002) have noted that relatively little empirical research, such as moderation analysis, has directly evaluated D. W. Sue et al.'s (1982) conceptual model. D.W. Sue and Sue's (1990, 2008) model has been widely accepted as the crucial theoretical framework of MCC in counseling and related fields. According to their model, MCC consists of three areas: (a) attitudes and beliefs--awareness of one's own assumptions, values, and biases; (b) knowledge--understanding the worldview of culturally diverse clients; and (c) skills--developing appropriate intervention strategies and techniques. Multicultural awareness and knowledge may relate to each other (D. W. Sue & Sue, 2008). Counselors with multicultural awareness but who lack knowledge may have limited knowledge regarding the cultural context of racial/ethnic minority clients. The converse also holds. Counselors with multicultural knowledge but not awareness may be unaware of their own cultural biases, thus lacking cross-cultural counseling competence. Researchers further conceptualized that counselors' racial/ ethnic identity may relate to self-reported MCC (e.g., Constantine, 2002; Middleton et al., 2005; Seay, 2003). Others (e.g., D. W. Sue & Sue, 1990, 2008) proposed that understanding one's demographic background, such as gender, could be a critical step in improving counselors' MCC. Moreover, Wester (2008) articulated that without understanding gender-role attitudes, counselors may have difficulties providing culturally sensitive service to diverse populations. A culturally competent counselor acquires MCC via multicultural training to effectively work with diverse groups. Although research shows that multicultural training is related to MCC (Smith, Constantine, Dunn, Dinehart, & Montoya, 2006), this positive association alone fails to deliver critical answers about the complex interplay of factors related to MCC development. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to examine whether the associations between racial/ethnic identity and MCC, and between gender-role attitudes and MCC, are moderated by the amount of multicultural training received. * Racial/Ethnic Identity, Multicultural Training, and MCC Theoretically speaking, racial/ethnic identity development is a personal process of moving from unawareness of racial/ ethnic differences toward awareness, as well as from nonracial/ethnic self-racial/ethnic identification toward such self-identification (Phinney, 1992). Across White and racial/ ethnic groups, each group has its unique history and values. Such group identity shows a sense of identification with and belongingness to one's own group (i.e., White or racial/ethnic minority). White people's sense of group identity is that they understand what Whiteness means; racial/ethnic minority people's identity is that they are proud of their group (Phinney & Ong, 2007). Thus, the higher status of racial/ethnic identity development that counselors have, the higher level of MCC they are equipped with (Chao, 2008). …