Dimensions of Multicultural Counseling

A Life Story Approach

Sara E. Schwarzbaum, Anita Jones Thomas

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 2008
• ISBN:
  9781506318974
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

This collection of life stories offers compelling narratives by individuals from different races, ethnic groups, religions, sexual orientations, and social classes. By weaving these engaging stories with relevant theoretical topics, this unique textbook provides deeper levels of understanding on how cultural factors influence identity, personality, worldview, and mental health. An Instructor's Resource CD with supplemental materials for each chapter and a helpful internet study site at http://www.sagepub.com/dimensionsofmulticulturalcounselingstudy/ including podcasts and videos offer further opportunities that examine and apply this mosaic of rich subject matter.

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Section II

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Dimensions of Race and Ethnicity

In America, race has long been a primary distinguishing cultural factor and a basis for oppression. Indeed, racial bias has underpinned many oppressive acts, including slavery, the removal of Native Americans from their lands to reservations, and the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Both subtle and institutional forms of oppression occur due to race. Race is associated with many emotionally laden issues, including racism, affirmative action, race-based quotas, acts of personal prejudice, political correctness, and sentiments against ethnic minorities (Ponterotto, Utsey, & Pedersen, 2006; Sue & Sue, 2003). The experiences of most racial and ethnic minorities are colored by their status as minorities, and while it is true that conditions have changed dramatically since the days when “Blacks were not permitted to drink from the same water fountains as Whites. . . . we still live in an essentially segregated society” (McGoldrick & Giordano, 1996, p. 15).

The significance of race as a term and concept has been debated. Race has been based on phenotypical differences in skin color, facial features, and hair and has been extended to include judgments on intelligence and other psychological characteristics. These physical differences, however, were determined to be inappropriate measures of separateness, so much so that the American Anthropological Association (1998) issued a statement suggesting that race no longer be used as a biological classification but instead be viewed as a product of sociopolitical issues and economics. Skin color, for example, is a historical adaptation to climate and environmental conditions rather than a representation of genetic differences. Contrary to people’s beliefs, purity of the races is a myth (American Anthropological Association, 1998). Race has sociopolitical connotations in the United States and has historically been a way to justify political oppression (McGoldrick & Giordano, 1996; Sue & Sue, 2003). Race was used for determining citizenship and land ownership and served as a justification for oppressive acts. Ethnicity is a broader concept in the field of multicultural theory that affords more depth of analysis than race. Focusing on ethnicity allows for inclusion of various groups categorized within racial groups, such as differences between Japanese and Chinese or Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. The emphasis on ethnicity also allows for the exploration of cultural norms for Whites.

Although often associated with nationality and national origin, ethnicity influences functioning, the nature of relationships, and life cycle transitions (Breunlin, Schwartz, & Mac Kune-Karrer, 1997). Phinney (1996) defines ethnicity as an aspect of a person’s social identity that is a part of an individual’s self-concept that derives from his or her knowledge of membership in a social group, together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership. Ethnicity includes three components: cultural values, attitudes, and behaviors; a subjective sense of group membership; and experiences with minority/majority status (Phinney, 1996). Ethnicity directs actions; thoughts; affective experiences, including work and career, interpersonal relationships, rituals, and traditions; and eating habits and patterns (McGoldrick & Giordano, 1996). Members of ethnic groups differ in the nature of their interpersonal relationships, rules, family and personal dilemmas, and strategies for resolving conflict (Hines, Garcia-Preto, McGoldrick, Almeida, & Weltman, 1992). Individuals differ in terms of ethnic identity, which includes the sense of membership in the ethnic group, and attitudes and feelings about group membership (Phinney, 1996). Racial identity, a similar concept, is derived from socialization experiences and the psychological and sociopolitical attitudes individuals hold toward their racial group and other groups (Helms, 1995). Racial and ethnic identity models postulate that individuals progress through stages of low salience and awareness of race to integration of values and beliefs prescribed by race (Sue & Sue, 2003). It is important to explore racial and ethnic identity because it explains behaviors and attitudes. Ethnic identity varies in family members (Gushue, 1993), and there are often conflicts in families resulting from differences in ethnic identity and values (McGoldrick & Giordano, 1996).

There are a variety of racial and ethnic identity models (Atkinson, 2003; Cross, 1995; Helms, 1995; Sue & Sue, 2003). Individuals can progress from having neutral or negative and deprecating attitudes toward their own racial group and positive attitudes toward the dominant group to immersion in their own culture, sometimes with accompanying anger toward the dominant group. This is often, but not always, followed by a more sophisticated psychological and cognitive exploration of the meaning of their culture and an integration of cultural values and racial and ethnic identity into self-concept. Racial identity is self-determined and is inclusive of values from both cultural groups. It is important for therapists to determine the identity levels of their clients. It should be noted that the racial and ethnic identity process is dynamic and recursive and that individuals may move fluidly back and forth through various stages as a result of experiences, personal growth, and self-awareness.

Limitation of the Concept of Ethnicity

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In multicultural theory, it is important to examine the concept of differences between ethnic groups (intergroup differences) as well as the differences within groups (intragroup differences). Examining the differences between groups allows readers to clarify some of the cultural differences that exist between people, and helps to legitimize the idea that the sense of belonging to an ethnic group is necessary to some people’s identity. In addition to the diversity and heterogeneity of ethnic groups, there are important similarities for certain groups that share a legacy of oppression, genocide, slavery, colonization, or conquest and that makes it necessary to examine them separately (Bernal, Trimble, Burlew, & Leong, 2003). This is why it is sometimes helpful to differentiate between White Europeans, African Americans, Latinos and Latinas, Asians, and other different ethnic groups. The concept of ethnicity, however, has several limitations.

Although understanding an individual’s ethnic group membership may be a good framework for examining behaviors, values, and beliefs, generalizations could also lead to inappropriate stereotypes and misunderstandings of intragroup differences. First, most ethnic groups are a combination of multiple cultural groups, and the labels that name ethnic groups generally do not reflect the diversity that exists within the groups (Hays, 2001; McGoldrick & Giordano, 1996). Second, it is nearly impossible to find pure ethnic groups that have not been “contaminated” by others (Appiah, 2006, p. 1). This contamination makes it difficult to describe a typical Latino or Latina or African American. Third, conceptualizing ethnicity as a categorical variable (you are either Asian or Latino or Latina, or you are not), simplifies the complexities of identities (Phinney, 1996). Finally, the descriptive characterization of ethnic group differences does not take into consideration the origins of those characteristics, always rooted in economic, social, historical, and political reasons. For example, the Latino or Latina elderly is often described as a person who did not plan for retirement and depends on his or her adult offspring during their later years. This description fails to acknowledge the fact that in many economically depressed areas of Latin America, planning for retirement is not possible. It is also a Western, middle-class concept derived from the economic structures that make planning for retirement a feasible goal. The different characteristics of ethnic groups are often wrongly understood as different from the middle-class, Western “norm,” from which they “deviate” (McGoldrick & Giordano, 1996). From this point of view, there is a risk of understanding “not planning for retirement”—or any other different characteristic—in a pejorative way.

Intragroup Differences: A Framework for Understanding Ethnicity

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Since people cannot be understood apart from the sociohistorical, political, and geographical backgrounds into which they were born, a useful approach might be to understand where people can be placed along a continuum of certain cultural characteristics. Table II.1 provides a way of thinking about personal characteristics, values, and worldview as stemming from individuals’ contact with, and exposure to, different cultural milieus. For example, societies—and the individuals and families who live within them—are exposed to more or less autocratic governments, live in more or less urban environments, and that are more or less patriarchal. They can be more or less individualistic, have more or less education, more or less access to material goods, and so on. A male individual raised in a patriarchal society, holding traditional gender roles, who has attained a high educational level, in an urban setting will differ from another person of the same patriarchal society, belonging to a lower socioeconomic class, raised in a rural area, even if that person belongs to the same ethnicity. Additionally, individuals can be at different points in the continuum regarding different personal characteristics. For example, an individual can be at a certain point in the continuum Individualism-Collectivism and at another point in the continuum Egalitarian-Patriarchal. Finally, individuals can change along some continuums more than along others, depending on numerous factors, including exposure to other cultures, immigration, and societal changes.

Because gender socialization differs so greatly across cultural groups, comparing two women who are at opposites ends of the continuum might be helpful. First, let’s examine the hypothetical life of a woman raised within the cultural characteristics at the right end of the continuum (see Table in a patriarchal, non-Western, autocratic society, who lives in a poor, rural area or the world, with little access to material goods, health care, or education. This composite of a woman is likely to be one of many siblings. Her parents will likely have differing expectations of her as compared to her male siblings in terms of her education. The parental expectations of her are that she will grow up to marry and have children, like her mother. Some of her siblings might not have survived beyond the first five years of their lives. She is likely to live in a household composed of more than two generations; she might marry before age 18 to someone who comes with the approval of, or has been selected by, her parents and who shares her religious orientation and her social class standing. Upon getting married, she might move in with the family of her husband, where single aunts and uncles also live. If she works, her income might be considered the property of her husband. She might never divorce, even if the marriage is unhappy, she might have several children raised, in some cases, by her mother-in-law. Her status in the family hierarchy might rise as she gets older and begins to have her own grandchildren, whom she would raise, the way her mother-in-law raised hers. Each one of the families’ life cycle events (births, marriages) would be punctuated by specific, ritualized ceremonies involving several generations of the family. This composite woman will almost never be alone in the course of her lifetime, surrounded by her siblings, her children, or her in-laws. In her old age, she will expect to be taken care of financially by her children and will be not be expected to provide for her own care.

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Table II.1

Continuum of Ethnicity and Culture (Sociopolitical Characteristics of Society or Origin)

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Sociopolitical Characteristics of Society or Origin

Democratic	Autocratic
Secular	Religious
Economic stability	Economic instability
Western	Non-Western
Urban/suburban	Rural

Characteristics of Culture

Individualism	Collectivism
Independence/Self-reliance	Rely on other
Non-hierarchical	Hierarchical
Egalitarian	Patriarchal
Material comforts	Lack of material comforts
Mobility	Lack of mobility
Change	Stability
Compartment by age	No compartment by age
Scientific	Folklore, superstition

Access to Resources

More Access to education	Limited access to education
More Access to health care	Limited access to health care
More access to mental health care	Limited access to mental health care

Other Cultural Dimensions to Consider

• Socioeconomic level
• Level of religious commitment
• Historical facts
• Geographical characteristics
• Gender socialization patterns
• Levels of exposure to oppression
• Sexual orientation

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Now let’s examine a composite woman who was raised within the cultural characteristics of the left side of the continuum in a democratic, Western, secular, middle-class, egalitarian, White American household, and has never been exposed to oppressive experiences. She is likely to have only one sibling and have been raised in a single-parent home. She is expected to go to college, and have an occupation that will allow her to support herself. She may obtain a higher level of education that her male siblings or the males with whom she went to school. She might move out of the house at age 18 to go to a college several hundred miles away from where she grew up and live by herself or with other women her age, without supervision. She might choose a mate whom her parents do not know, or do not approve, who is of a different religious background or a different social class. It would be possible for her to enter into a relationship with another woman. If she were to engage in a same-sex relationship, she might disclose that to her friends and family. She might decide either to have children after age 35 or not to have children at all. She might choose to concentrate on her career and never marry. If she does get married, and has children, both she and her husband might work after the children are born. It would be possible for her to work and for her husband to stay home and raise the children. They would likely live in a home by themselves, without other relatives, and they are likely not to live in the town where they grew up. She is likely to have her own bank account. She and her partner or husband are likely to consult a therapist if their have any concerns regarding their relationship, and they have a high probability to get divorced after less than 10 years of marriage. If they do get divorced, the children are likely to spend some time with each of their separate parents in different households. She is likely to get remarried. She is likely to plan for her retirement during her work years, and after she retires, she might move to a place where there are other people her age. She is not likely to share a household with any of her children in her old age.

The advantage of examining people as falling along continuums across several dimensions is that it allows for the understanding of people’s worldviews, beliefs, behaviors, and values as being subject to, and influenced by, the cultural milieu in which they grew up.

Racial Identity Models

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While it is important to understand values and characteristics associated with each racial or major ethnic group, it is also important to understand intragroup differences, as noted. Differences may occur due to acculturation rates, experiences with oppression, educational and social class differences, or socialization experiences. Racial identity models have been postulated as another way to help understand intragroup differences. Racial or ethnic identity has been defined as the part of an individual’s self-concept or sense of self that is related to group membership status and perceptions of membership. Most racial/ethnic identity models hold that individuals begin with low salience or awareness of race, or strong pro-dominant-group values, until some type of significant encounter occurs, usually with a member of a different racial group. The encounter phase is typically accompanied by confusion, anxiety, depression, and guilt over previously held beliefs. The third stage includes an immersion into cultural activities, including social and political activities, and may include a change of dress, hairstyles, speech, and friendships. The fourth stage includes an integration of racial identity into larger self-concept, and awareness and acceptance of all cultural groups. Table II.2 summarizes major racial and ethnic identity models.

Intergroup Differences

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Though it seems unfair to group all White Europeans, Asians, Latinos and Latinas, and African Americans in one big category, some very general characteristics do exist, as noted earlier, that define them as a group, distinct from others. Concepts such as discrimination, marginalization, and segregation, which characterize oppressed groups, or hegemony, which characterizes dominant groups, are salient features in different groups that warrant separate descriptions (Potts & Watts, 2003). The idea, though controversial, that membership in a devalued racial or ethnic group is the most defining experience for an individual living (Utsey, Gernat, & Bolden, 2003) justifies the continued descriptions based on ethnic and racial characteristics. Additionally, some groups share many characteristics, i.e., ways of relating to ancestors, nature, or kin; notions of time; ways of speaking; and so on, that are distinctively different from the way other groups behave, think, or believe (Potts & Watts, 2003). It is important to realize that it is not a question of choosing either to emphasize between group descriptions or within group variations, but to find a way to integrate both between and within group differences in order to make sense of the cultural identity of an individual (Saba, Karrer, & Hardy, 1989).

Additionally, it is important to consider the following aspects that affect ethnic identity. First, some individuals and families m...

Table of contents

• Cover page
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Section I: Conceptual Frameworks
• Section II: Dimensions of Race and Ethnicity
• Section III: Dimensions of Immigration and Acculturation
• Section IV: Dimensions of Religion and Spirituality
• Section V: Dimensions of Social Class
• Section VI: Dimensions of Sexual Orientation
• Appendix
• References
• Index
• About the Authors