Correlates of multicultural counseling competencies of vocational rehabilitation counselors

Correlates of multicultural counseling competencies for a sample of vocational rehabilitation counselors were examined. One hundred and seventy-five counselors completed the Multicultural Counseling Inventory (MCI) and a demographic questionnaire. A three-step, forced-entry multiple regression model was used to assess the separate and collective contributions of demographic, experiential, and training variables to counselors' self-reported multicultural counseling competencies. Together these three variable sets explained 33% of the variation in MCI total score, and each variable set significantly added to the variation in multicultural competencies. In the final model, counselor gender, race, participation in a graduate class in multicultural counseling, and participation in a greater number of workshops on multicultural issues over the previous 5 years significantly predicted MCI total score. These data provide strong evidence that continuing education workshops are beneficial for all counselors, not just those who have less personal and professional experience with multicultural issues or less formal training in multicultural counseling.