Counselor gender and early premature terminations from counseling: A replication and extension

Attempted to replicate and extend an earlier study in which N. E. Betz and S. L. Shullman found that clients (CL) of both genders were less likely to return for scheduled 2nd counseling sessions following an initial intake session when the intake counselor (CO) was male rather than female, and that this pattern was even more pronounced when the CL was referred to a male CO for continued counseling. The present study examined the relationship of CO gender, client gender, and CO experience to return rates of CL, with the nature of CL concerns and their severity included as independent variables. Return rates to scheduled 3rd counseling sessions were also examined. Ss were 309 1st-time CLs at a large university counseling center who were seen individually by 1 of 30 COs. Results indicate that male COs had higher return rates than female COs regardless of their level of experience, the session examined, the gender of CL, the concerns of CL, or the severity of those concerns. (11 ref)