Korean school counselors’ counseling competencies and advocacy activities for LGBTQ+ youth: A latent profile analysis
Im, G., & Kim, D. (under review). Korean school counselors’ counseling competencies and advocacy activities for LGBTQ+ youth: Latent Profile Analysis.
Abstract
This study classified Korean school counselors into latent groups based on their LGBTQ+ counseling competencies and advocacy activities through latent profile analysis (LPA). Data from 259 school counselors were analyzed, resulting in five distinct groups: Distant, Passive, Average, Active, and Advocacy-oriented. R3STEP analyses further showed that counselors’ sexual orientation and gender identity, counseling experience with LGBTQ+ clients, exposure to LGBTQ+ education, and school level significantly predicted group membership. Among these, education exposure emerged as the strongest predictor across groups. Based on these profiles and predictors, the study proposes developmentally tailored educational recommendations and training considerations to strengthen both competence and advocacy. Implications for counselor education, research, and practice, as well as study limitations, are discussed.