Ethnicity and gender similarity: The effectiveness of counseling for adolescents

Few studies in counseling and psychotherapy have examined the relationship between counselees' perception of counselors' attractiveness and therapeutic outcomes using high school-age counselees in actual counseling sessions. This study investigated the extent to which perceived counselor-counselee similarity affected the counselee's perceptions of counselor attractiveness and how perceived counselor attractiveness affected the degree of counselee satisfaction with counseling. The results suggested that racial and gender differences appear not to have operated as barriers to effective counseling. The implications of these findings for counseling research and practice, in general, we well as for successful counselor-counselee interactions in a multicultural context, in particular, are discussed.She received her Ed.D. degree in curriculum and counseling from the UCLA Graduate School of Education in 1987. She has a long-standing interest in minority-group accessibility to higher education and the importance of matching in counseling and guidance.Her Ph.D. is also from UCLA, where she is currently a faculty member. Her areas of research include discriminatory testing and psychodiagnostic issues related to ethnic/minority-group populations.     

Child witnesses in criminal court

The last decade has witnessed a dramatic rise in public and professional concern regarding the special needs of children as witnesses in the court setting. This study was conducted to examine characteristics of criminal court cases involving children as potential witnesses that were adjudicated through a trial conviction, trial acquittal, or guilty plea, from among cases that went to court in a 12-month period in nine judicial circuits in three states. Three hundred sixteen criminal court cases involving children as potential witnesses were examined. The vast majority, of these cases involved sexual crimes against children. The results indicated that relatively few (16.8%) adjudicated cases were resolved through a trial proceeding. Sentencing varied from state to state and as a function of the disposition of the case. Future research should be conducted prospectively to determine (a) whether cases involving children as witnesses in criminal court are prosecuted at lower rates than cases involving adults and (b) the reasons that cases leave the criminal justice system prior to any court actions.This research was supported by State Justice Institute grant No. 88-11J-D-064. Points of view or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the State Justice Institute.     

A fresh look at a policy sciences methodology: collaborative modeling for more effective policy

Collaborative modeling offers a novel methodology that integrates core ideals in the policy sciences. The principles behind collaborative modeling enable policy researchers and decision makers to address interdisciplinarity, complex systems, and public input in the policy process. This approach ideally utilizes system dynamics to enable a multidisciplinary group to explore the relationships in a complex system. We propose that there is a spectrum of possibilities for applying collaborative modeling in the policy arena, ranging from the purely academic through full collaboration among subject matter experts, the general public, and decision makers. Likewise, there is a spectrum of options for invoking collaboration within the policy process. Results from our experiences suggest that participants in a collaborative modeling project develop a deeper level of understanding about the complexity in the policy issue being addressed; increase their agreement about root problems; and gain an appreciation for the uncertainty inherent in data and methods in studying complex systems. We conclude that these attributes of collaborative modeling make it an attractive option for improving the decision-making process as well as on-the-ground decisions.