Analogue Study of Expectations for Christian and Traditional Counseling

Using an analogue format, this study attempted to fill a void in the literature by investigating Christian and non-Christian subjects' expectations for counseling with a Christian or traditional counselor. After reading a description of either a professional counselor with no identified religious orientation in counseling or a professional counselor identified as a Christian counselor, the 238 subjects responded to a modified version of Tinsley's (1982) Expectations About Counseling: Brief Form. Subjects were blocked on religious orientation from their responses to an inventory of Christian beliefs, with the highest scoring third labeled "Christian" and the lowest scoring third labeled "non-Christian." Analyses of the data from these 167 subjects revealed differences in expectations for counseling as a function of subject's sex, subject's religious orientation, and counselor's orientation. A significant interaction between subject's religious orientation and counselor's orientation in counseling was not obtained. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.