Effects of a multiracial identity intervention on perceived cultural competence and attitudes toward professional psychological help

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a therapeutic intervention specific to multiracial individuals. The Bill of Rights for People of Mixed-Heritage (Root, 1996a) has been suggested for use in clinical training and as a therapeutic intervention (American Psychological Association, 2006; Sue & Sue, 2013). In this study, 111 participants completed the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help-Short Form (Fischer & Farina, 1995) before and after reading a clinical vignette. A control vignette described a multiracial individual's experiences that led up to an initial therapy session. The therapist in the vignette utilized interventions based on common factors (Imel & Wampold, 2008; Wampold, 2001) of psychotherapy. A vignette that included the Bill of Rights for People of Mixed-Heritage was offered as the experimental condition. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 57) or control (n = 54) condition. In addition to measuring attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, participants were asked to assess the multicultural competence of the vignette therapist by completing a modified version of the Cross-Cultural Counseling Inventory---Revised (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Hernandez, 1991) after reading the vignette. Consistent with prior research (Constantine, 2002), a positive correlation between perception of multicultural competence and attitudes toward seeking psychological help was found.;Multiracial identity statuses were also measured using the Multiracial-Heritage Awareness and Personal Affiliation Scale (M-HAPAs; Choi-Misailidis, 2004). Participant identity status was examined to assess if identity status served as a moderator variable for help seeking attitudes and perception of therapist multicultural competence. Participants who identified as more racially integrated found the therapist to be more multiculturally competent when the Bill of Rights for People of Mixed-Heritage was presented. Recommendations for mental health professionals and future research are provided.