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Influence Of Social Class Perceptions On Attributions Among Mental Health Practitioners, Mindi Thompson, Jacob Diestelmann, Odessa Cole, Abiola O. Keller, Takuya Minami

Physician Assistant Studies Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: A vignette-based study assessed the influence of social class attributions toward a hypothetical client's difficulty. Method: 188 licensed mental health professionals who were recruited through professional listservs completed an online survey after reviewing one of two versions of a vignette describing a hypothetical client that varied based on social class cues. Results: As expected, this sample of licensed mental health practitioners detected social class differences based on the descriptors of the hypothetical client across the two vignettes. These perceived social class differences, however, did not impact participants' attributions toward the client for causing or solving her problems, level of …