Asian International Students' Beliefs about Psychologists' International Competencies and Services

An analogue study in which 311 Asian international students were randomly assigned to read one of four vignettes was conducted to examine the impact of psychologists' level of international competency and the type of psychological service (outreach vs. individual therapy) they provided on participants' attitudes toward psychologists and their services. Two MANCOVAs were performed to test the hypotheses that high psychologist international competency (as compared to low competency) and outreach (as compared to individual therapy) would result in more favorable perceptions of psychologists and psychological services. Findings suggested that demonstrating high international competency resulted in more positive perceptions of psychologists' expertness, although it was not related to Asian international students' attitudes toward specific psychological services. Results further revealed that while Asian international students as a whole perceived individual counseling and outreach similarly, regional differences emerged with respect to stigma tolerance for services. Research and training implications for psychologists are discussed in light of the findings.