Measurement Invariance Testing in Counseling

Measurement invariance is crucial in counseling research and assessment because it ensures that scores have the same meanings across treatment conditions, time points, or diverse populations. We conducted a review and content analysis of articles that reported invariance testing and were published in selected counseling journals between 2010 and 2019 (N = 1165). Findings suggest a small proportion of published invariance tests (2.8%) had been undertaken by counseling researchers. We found that the majority of the articles that reported invariance testing in counseling research addressed gender and race/ethnicity. Implications for future research, counselor educator training, and clinical practice are discussed.