Does sex of client affect counselors' evaluation?

Abstract

This study examined whether clients' positive or negative self-disclosure and sex affected counselors' evaluation of the clients. 80 counselors (30 certified, 45 master's and five doctoral trainees; six men and 74 women), after viewing a video-taped counseling interview in which the client self-disclosed either largely positive or negative contents responded to the Clinical Impression Scale which contained 8 clinical characteristics of clients (assertiveness, overall coping skills, anxiety, attitude toward counseling, motivation to change, self-esteem, insight, and depression). When the client self-disclosed largely negative content about self, counselors evaluated male client more negatively, i.e., less assertive, poor coping skills, higher anxiety, more negative attitude toward counseling, less eager to change, lower self-esteem, less insight, and higher depression) than female client. However, when the client self-disclosed largely positive content, there was no statistically significant sex difference between the two groups. The implications are discussed.