This study examined the effects of mentor ethnicity, cultural sensitivity, and student level of cultural mistrust on perceptions of mentor credibility and cultural competence. African American men attending west coast community colleges listened to a tape-recorded mentoring session in which the faculty mentor was described as eitherAfrican American or European American and was portrayed as either culturally responsive or culturally unresponsive. Mentor ethnicity, as well as an interaction between mentor ethnicity and participant level of cultural mistrust, were found to be related to perceptions of mentor credibility/effectiveness. In addition, mentor ethnicity and cultural sensitivity were found to be related to perceptions of mentor cross-cultural competence.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, W. R.
(1984, April). Research on Black students in higher education: Trends, issues, and prospects. Paperpresented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
2.
Atkinson, D. R.
, Casas, A. A., & Neville, H. (1994). Ethnic minority psychologists: Whom they mentor and benefits they derive from the process. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 22(1), 37-48.
3.
Atkinson, D. R.
, Ponce, F. Q., & Martinez, F M. (1984). Effects of ethnicity, sex, and attitude similarity on counselor credibility. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31(4), 588-590.
4.
Atkinson, D. R.
, & Wampold, B. E. (1982). A comparison of the Counselor Rating Form and the Counselor Effectiveness Rating Scale. Counselor Education and Supervision, 33(1), 25-36.
5.
Blackwell, J. E.
(1989). Mentoring: An action strategy for increasing minority faculty. Academe, 75(5), 8-14.
6.
Borman, C.
, & Colson, S. (1984). Mentoring: Effective career guidance techniques. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 32(3), 192-197.
7.
Clawson, J. G.
(1985). Is mentoring necessary?Training and Developmental Journal, 39(4), 36-39.
8.
Commission for Minority Participation and American Life
. (1988). One third of a nation: A report of the Commission on Minority Participation in Education and American Life. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
9.
Equal Opportunity Commission
. (1985). 18th annual report for fiscal year 1983. Chicago: Commerce Clearing House.
10.
Fleming, J.
(1984). Blacks in college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
11.
Hemandez, A. G., & LaFromboise, T. M. (1983). [Reliability of the Cross-Cultural Competency Scale]. Unpublished raw data, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
12.
LaFromboise, T. D.
, Coleman, H. L., & Hemandez, A. (1989, August). Development andfactor structure of the cross-cultural counseling inventory. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA.
13.
Levinson, D. J.
(1978). Seasons of a man's life. New York: Baltimore Books.
14.
Mendoza, J.
, & Samuels, C. (1987). Faculty mentoring systems for minority student retention, year end report, 1986 educational year. Reports-Descriptive, 141, 1-38.
15.
Oestericher, M.
(1987). Effectiveness of peer tutor/mentors for disadvantaged students at Brooklyn College: Preliminary analyses. Linkages: Perspectives from Special Programs, 5(1), 27-33.
16.
Pomales, J.
, Claiborn, C. D., & LaFromboise, T. D. (1986). Effects of Black students' racial identity on perceptions of White counselors varying in cultural sensitivity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 33(1), 57-61.
17.
Ponterotto, J. G.
, & Casas, J. M. (1991). Handbook on racial/ethnic minority counseling research. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
18.
Poston, W. S.
, Craine, M., & Atkinson, D. R. (1991). Counselor dissimilarity confrontation, client cultural misturst, and willingness to self-disclose. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 19(2), 65-73.
19.
Sue, D. W.
, Bernier, J.J.E., Durran, A., Feinberg, L., Pedersen, P., Smith, E. J., & Vasquez-Nuttall, E. (1982). Position paper: Cross-cultural counseling competencies. The Counseling Psychologist, 10(2), 45-52.
20.
Terrell, F.
, & Terrell, S. (1981). An inventory to measure cultural mistrust level, and premature termination from counseling among Black clients. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 371-375.
21.
Thompson, C. E.
, Neville, H., Weathers, P. L., Poston, W. C., & Atkinson, D. R. (1990). Cultural mistrust and racism reaction among African-American students. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 162-168.
22.
U.S. Bureau of Census
. (1990). BlackandAfricanAmericans stand up in census 90. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce.
23.
Watkins, C. E.
, & Terrell, F. (1988). Mistrust level and its effects on counseling expectations in Black-White counseling relationships: An analogue study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 35, 194-197.
24.
Wiley, E., III
. (1989). Mentor programs successful in minority retention. Black Issues in Higher Education, 5(22), 8-8.
25.
Willie, C. V.
, Grady, M. K., & Hope, R. O. (1991). African-Americans and the doctoral experience: Implication for policy. New York: Teachers College Press.
26.
Wilson, R.
(1984). ACE program targets minority advancement. Black Issues in Higher Education, 1(6), 1-3.
27.
Wilson, R.
(1989). The state of Blacks in higher education: Crisis and promise. In J. Dewart (Ed.), The state of Black America. New York: National Urban League.
