Working with refugee torture survivors: Assessment of competency and training.

摘要

This study presents the development and validation of a measure of counseling competency with refugee torture survivors. The Refugee Torture Counseling Competency Assessment (REFTOR) measure was adapted from the Multicultural Awareness Knowledge and Skills Survey – Counselor Edition (MAKSS-CE-R; Kim et al., 2003) and was theoretically developed based on the limited literature available on refugee torture survivors. The 37-item REFTOR measure was administered to a sample of 179 psychologists and trainees in clinical and counseling psychology who were actively engaged in clinical work. Results of an exploratory principal axis factor analysis with oblimin (oblique) rotation revealed a two-factor structure for the measure with 37 total items and that explained 43.64% of the total variance. The first factor included 29 items and was labeled “Efficacy,” accounting for 38.90% of the variance, and the second factor included 8 items and was labeled “Awareness,” accounting for 4.74% of the variance. Evidence of concurrent validity was supported by factor correlations with other scales and items, and internal consistencies for the subscales and the full scale were acceptable. Information regarding current training experiences relevant to clinical work with refugee torture survivors and attitudes towards torture among study participants was also assessed. Results revealed that training experiences are limited, with the majority of information participants received relevant to working with refugee torture survivors coming from non-empirical articles (67% of participants). Attitudes towards torture varied considerably with a sizable proportion of participants endorsing torture in some circumstances (32.4%) and reporting uncertainty about the morality of psychologists' professional involvement in torture (12.3%). Recommendations for future research and implications of study findings for training are discussed.