Middle School Students’ Expectations about Counseling

Although counseling expectations have been studied in late adolescent and adult samples, little is known about younger adolescents’ openness to counseling and perceptions of the counseling process. In this study, 329 middle school students completed the Expectations About Counseling Questionnaire–Brief Form (Tinsley, 1982). An exploratory factor analysis indicated support for a two-factor structure, consisting of expectations about (a) the student's role and (b) the school counselor's role. Implications are considered for future research and practical efforts to enable young adolescents to benefit more fully from responsive counseling services.