The Development and Validation of the Multicultural Competency Assessment© (MCA©)

A sound and tested multicultural therapeutic approach is an essential component in providing ethical services to all client populations (e.g., Medley, Lipari, Bose, Cribb, Kroutil, & McHenry, 2015). Therefore, concepts of multiculturalism have been integrated in ethical codes, guidelines on competence, and standards for training in preparation programs within counseling, psychology, and social work fields (e.g., American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, 2014; American Psychological Association Guidelines on Multicultural Education, Training, Research, Practice, and Organizational Change for Psychologists, 2002; Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs Standards, 2016; National Association of Social Workers Standards and Indicators for Cultural Competence in Social Work Practice, 2015). Despite mandates for therapists to utilize a multicultural perspective, multiculturalism has remained a challenging construct to measure. Thus, the goal of this research was to develop and test the psychometrics features of the Multicultural Competency Assessment© (MCA) scores with a national sample of therapists in clinical practice. The MCA and items were constructed employing instrument development best practices (e.g., AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014; DeVellis, 2017; Dimitrov, 2012; Haladyna & Rodriguez, 2013; Lambie, Blount, & Mullen, 2017). The initial 50 item MCA scores were tested with Data1 (N = 407) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and parallel analysis (PA), resulting in a 25-item MCA with a four-factor structure that accounted for 64.11% of the total variance. Next, the 25-item MCA scores were tested with Data 2 (N = 233) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the results supported the four-factor MCA structural model. The four-factor MCA structure represents (a) Knowledge, Skills, and Interventions (21.86% of the variance); (b) Awareness of Self (19.27% of the variance); (c) Awareness of Client Worldview (11.95% of the variance); and (d) System and Institutional Structures (11.03% of the variance). In addition, the MCA scores yielded sound internal consistency reliability (e.g., .953). Evidence of concurrent validity was supported with a positive correlation between MCA and Multicultural Counseling Self-Efficacy Scale -Racial Diversity Form (MCSE-RD) scores (r = .746; p \u3c .001; 55.61% variance explained). Further, a positive correlation was identified between the MCA scores and participants\u27 reported age. The findings from the investigation may be used to: (a) assist researchers in measuring the construct of multicultural competence, (b) aid therapists in evaluating their levels of as multicultural competence, and (c) promote sound curriculum in counselor education programs to promotion trainees\u27 development of multicultural competence. Limitations of the study and areas for future research are presented