The Development and Validation of Counselor Disability Competence Scale

Abstract

According to the American Community Survey (2022), 13.4% of the United States population consists of persons with disabilities (PWDs). Despite comprising one of the largest minority groups in the US, PWDs have been overlooked in both counseling training programs and research, compared to the greater attention given to clients with different ethnic and racial backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. The existing literature documents that counselors are not adequately trained to work with clients with disabilities, even though there is a great need for all counselors to develop disability counseling competencies. Unfortunately, there is not psychometrically sound and up-to-date instrument to measure counselors’ and counseling students’ disability competencies. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure counselor disability competence (Counselor Disability Competence Scale). Using a quantitative approach, this study (a) developed a new scale to accurately measure counselor disability competencies in working with PWDs; (b) examined the psychometric properties of scores on the developed scale; and (c) investigated variables predicting counselors’ disability competencies, including gender, race, the amount of clinical experience with clients with disabilities, the amount of contact with people with disabilities, disability-related course content coverage in training, having a disability, and counseling subspecialty area. Participants included 252 master’s and doctoral-level counseling students and practitioners from both CACREP-accredited and non-CACREP-accredited programs. The final version of the Counselor Disability Competence Scale (CDCS) consisted of 20 items and the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) yielded a four-factor solution. The subscales for CDCS are as follows: “Knowledge and Expertise,” "Misguided Disability Admiration”, “Proactive Inclusion,” and “Ableist Biases.” The scale demonstrated high internal reliability, with a Cronbach's Alpha of .85 for the overall scale. The amount of contact with people with disabilities, disability-related course content in training, and having a disability significantly predicted counselor disability competence. Gender, race, and amount of clinical experience with clients with disabilities did not show a significant predictive relationship with counselor disability competence. The results indicated a significant difference in CDCS mean scores among the three counseling subspecialty areas. Specifically, the Rehabilitation Counseling or Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling group had significantly higher CDCS mean scores compared to both the Community or Clinical Mental Health Counseling group and the School Counseling group. Possible implications for research, education and professional settings were discussed.