Effect of Client Gender and Counselor Gender and Sex Roles on Willingness to See the Counselor

Male ( n = 47) and female ( n = 60) clients of a university counseling center were randomly assigned to read one of six counselor descriptions generated by crossing counselor gender with three types of counselor sex roles (feminine, androgynous, and masculine). After reading the counselor descriptions, subjects rated their willingness to see the counselor for a variety of concerns. A multivariate analysis of variance on four groups of concerns revealed a significant effect of counselor sex role. The feminine sex role was rated higher than the masculine sex role for personal concerns. The converse was found to be true for assertiveness concerns. Both the masculine and androgynous sex roles were rated higher than the feminine sex role for academic concerns. Client and counselor gender did not affect willingness to see the counselor.