Counseling Utilization by Ethnic Minority Students, Article Critique Example

Counseling utilization among minority students is the focus of the research created by Kearney, Draper & Baron (2003). The authors examine how multicultural awareness impacts the level of utilizing counseling services by minority students in university campuses. The below critique will examine the research methodology, findings and recommendations of the study in order to evaluate the most important implications in therapy.

The authors (Kearney et al. 2003) state that while previous studies exist related to campus counseling service utilization within the whole student population, no researchers focused particularly on one minority group. The main focus of the research created by the authors is to evaluate the differences in campus based counseling service utilization among Asian, African American, Caucasian and Hispanic students. The study also states that minority groups’ utilization of counseling services is generally lower, because they do not feel that therapies are tailored to their individual needs. In other words: the messages delivered through counseling are not culturally relevant to them. The authors are attempting to determine how therapists are able to become culturally sensitive and meet the needs of diverse groups within campus population. Quoting recent literature, the authors indicate that when a cultural and linguistic match exists between counselor and patient, the number of sessions taken increase (p. 5). The research was based on the analysis of the initial “presenting questionnaire” and “outcome questionnaire” submitted by 1166 participants.

The outcome of the research confirmed the initial hypotheses that Caucasians attended fewer sessions, which, according to the researchers, indicates that their needs were less satisfied. Distress at the point of intake was significantly higher among minority groups, while Asian Americans were the most affected by it. The social roles sub-scale also showed that stress related to academic work was higher among Asian Americans than Caucasians. It was also proven by the research that all sub-groups equally benefited from counseling.

The research above was concluded on a large scale among university students. It has successfully compared the outcomes and initial stress levels of ethnic groups. However, even though the research was scientifically correct and proved the hypothesis, it does not provide proof that:

• The reason for lower utilization of campus counseling services among minority groups is that students’ needs and cultural diversity are not addressed adequately
• That culturally relevant and sensitive approaches would result in a more positive treatment outcome for minority groups.

Therefore,  – as the researchers can only assume that the above statements are correct at this point – there is a need for concluding another research that compares treatment outcomes among minority groups when culturally responsive and sensitive settings and therapies are applied with the results of  “standard” counseling intervention.

Further, in order to prove the above two new hypotheses, it would be important to create surveys among minority students that evaluates their attitudes towards seeking help through counseling. Making educated guesses, such as: “difference may reflect the great emphasis placed on academic achievement in Asian American families” (p. 17) or “findings may indicate that minority students are having greater difficulty acclimating to university campuses” (p. 16) would not be enough to create a framework of creating a framework that implements multicultural awareness into counseling services: the aspects of students’ diversity, health related behavior and attitudes need to be understood first. Therefore, it is recommended that further studies are created to support the above statements and health professionals in making mental health intervention more beneficial for minority groups.

References

Kearney, L., Draper, M. & Baron, A. (2003) Counseling utilization by ethnic minority students. Research Consortium.