Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Education, Counseling

Date of Defense

7-20-2022

Graduate Advisor

Mary Edwin, PhD

Committee

Susan Kashubeck-West, PhD

Matthew Taylor, PhD

Angela Coker, PhD

Abstract

Though resilience is a commonly studied variable in different disciplines, there is relatively little research on occupational settings. Researchers take various perspectives in defining resilience as a trait, process, and an outcome. Regardless of how it is defined, it is a vital protective factor for Black mental health counselors who may be significantly impacted by similar experiences, such as racism and racial discrimination, as the Black clients they serve. This dissertation study consisted of two studies utilizing the same data set. In the first study, psychometric properties of a new quantitative instrument, the Race-Based Resilience Scale (RBRS), was constructed to measure Race-Based Resilience (RBR) within a group of Black mental health counselors. The second study investigated group differences in Vicarious Traumatization (VT) and Race-Based Resilience (RBR) for Black mental health counselors with moderate and high levels of Racial Centrality (RC) using an independent samples t-test. Findings of the first study yielded a 14-item instrument with a three-factor solution (Self-Efficacy, Coping Mechanisms, and Multicultural and Social Justice Advocacy) that reflected high factor loading accounting for nearly 60% of the variance. For the second study, there was no significant difference in Vicarious Traumatization (VT) or Race-Based Resilience (RBR) scores for Black mental health counselors with moderate to high levels of Racial Centrality (RC).

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