Influence of social class perceptions on attributions among mental health practitioners.
OBJECTIVE
A vignette-based study assessed the influence of social class attributions toward a hypothetical client's difficulty.


METHODS
188 licensed mental health professionals who were recruited through professional listservs completed an online survey after reviewing one of two versions of a vignette describing a hypothetical client that varied based on social class cues.


RESULTS
As expected, this sample of licensed mental health practitioners detected social class differences based on the descriptors of the hypothetical client across the two vignettes. These perceived social class differences, however, did not impact participants' attributions toward the client for causing or solving her problems, level of Global Assessment of Functioning score ascribed to the client, or willingness to work with the client.


CONCLUSIONS
There was no evidence that participants differentially ascribed attributions based on social class. Implications and directions for future research are provided.
a Department of Counseling Psychology , University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison , WI , USA.
Mindi
M
Thompson
Jacob
J
Diestelmann
Odessa
O
Cole
Abiola
A
Keller
Takuya
T
Minami
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000592:standards*; D012923:Social Class; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult
clinical impressions; social class attributions; vignette-based experimental design