title: Therapist correlates of attitudes toward sexual minority individuals, affirmative counseling self-efficacy, and beliefs about affirmative practice.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of training in sexual minority issues, professional identification, and gender on attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, affirmative counseling self-efficacy, and beliefs about affirmative practice among mental health practitioners in the USA.
  
  
  
  We used the Internet to recruit a nationwide sample of 443 heterosexual psychologists (n = 270), clinical social workers (n = 110), and marriage and family therapists (n = 63) residing in the USA.
  
  
  
  When controlling for years of practice experience and age, results from structural equation modeling analysis showed that training was associated with more affirmative attitudes, higher levels of affirmative counseling self-efficacy, and more positive beliefs. Female therapists reported more affirmative attitudes and higher levels of affirmative counseling self-efficacy than male therapists. Professional identification did not predict any criterion variables, when controlling for years of practice experience and age.
  
  
  
  Findings suggest that it will be important for educational and training initiatives to consider the effect of gender role socialization on attitudes and affirmative counseling self-efficacy, especially among beginning male therapists.
authors: a School of Social Work, Rutgers , The State University of New Jersey , Newark , NJ , USA.
authors: Edward J
authors: EJ
authors: Alessi
authors: b Division of Counseling Psychology , University at Albany, State University of New York , Albany , NY , USA.
authors: Frank R
authors: FR
authors: Dillon
authors: a School of Social Work, Rutgers , The State University of New Jersey , Newark , NJ , USA.
authors: Hillary Mi-Sung
authors: HM
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003376:Counseling; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy; D011586:Psychology, Clinical; D011613:Psychotherapy; D020377:Self Efficacy; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities; D000068217:Social Workers
keywords: LGB-affirmative counseling self-efficacy; LGB-affirmative psychotherapy; attitudes toward LGB individuals; lesbian, gay, and bisexual; psychotherapy training