ABSTRACT

Whilst the relationship between working alliance and sexual identity disclosure has received some empirical attention in the psychotherapeutic literature, it has yet to be examined in coaching contexts. To commence the exploration of sexual identity issues in coaching, a pilot study (n = 40) was designed to investigate the extent to which an imagined disclosure experience would impact upon participants’ perceptions of working alliance. Two hypothesises were tested using a vignette-based survey. The first predicted that both working alliance and disclosure intentions would be related to the anticipated support of a coach. The second hypothesis predicted that imagined sexual identity disclosure to a coach would have a positive impact on perceived working alliance. Whilst a correlational analysis found support for the first hypothesis, the pattern of relationships differed for the two anticipated support variables: coach comfort and coach support. The second hypothesis was tested using a simple vignette manipulation and pre-post disclosure measures. Participants reported a strengthening of perceived working alliance after considering the disclosure scenario (t = −2.30, p < .05). A discussion of the results is then presented and related to recent evidence confirming the importance of autonomy support to disclosure decisions and their long-term impact. Implications for coaching research and practice are provided.

摘要

虽然工作同盟和性身份披露之间的关系在心理治疗学文献中受到了一些经验性的关注，但尚未在教练的背景下进行研究。开始的性身份问题的探索中执教，试点研究（ñ = 40）的目的是调查想象中的公开经验会在多大程度上影响参与者对工作联盟的看法。使用基于小插图的调查检验了两个假设。第一个预测工作联盟和披露意图都将与教练的预期支持有关。第二个假设预测，向教练公开性幻想会对感知的工作联盟产生积极影响。尽管相关分析发现了对第一个假设的支持，但对于两个预期的支持变量：教练舒适度和教练支持，关系的模式有所不同。使用简单的小插图操作和事前披露措施测试了第二种假设。在考虑了公开情况之后，参与者报告了人们对工作联盟的感知得到了加强（t  = -2.30，p  <.05）。然后，对结果进行了讨论，并与最近的证据相关，这些证据证实了自主支持对披露决定及其长期影响的重要性。提供了指导研究和实践的含义。