MEXICAN-AMERICAN ACCULTURATION, COUNSELOR ETHNICITY AND CULTURAL SENSITIVITY, AND PERCEIVED COUNSELOR COMPETENCE

Mexican-American community college students (N = 189) identified as low, medium, or high in acculturation were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 possible stimulus conditions generated by crossing 2 counselor introductions (Mexican American or Anglo American) with two tape-recorded counseling simulations (culturally responsive or culturally unresponsive). A significant cultural sensitivity effect was found for perceptions of cultural competence. Highest ratings of cultural competence were obtained when the counselor was portrayed as culturally responsive and lowest ratings when the counselor was portrayed as culturally unresponsive, regardless of counselor ethnicity or participant acculturation. All other main and interaction effects for perceived counselor credibility and cultural competence were nonsignificant.