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Virginia Tech

Adolescents' Willingness to Utilize Online Counseling

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This study was a descriptive examination of the likelihood that adolescents would utilize online counseling to address their school counseling needs as compared to face-to-face counseling. Ninth to twelfth grade students at a suburban high school with proximity to a large metropolitan city were chosen for this study. This convenience sample was chosen due to the high academic profile of the students, the integration of computers into the school curriculum, the strong utilization of the counseling program, and the high counselor/student ratio. The research questions were explored using a two-part questionnaire with a sample size of 300. Individual Internet frequency and type of use as well as knowledge of the services that were available to them at their school were assessed. Counseling style preference for either online or face-to-face counseling was compared for specific school related issues. Frequency tables and cross tabulations were used to analyze the data. As would be expected, analyses showed that students were frequent users of the Internet as well as frequent users of email and instant messaging. They were mostly unaware of the counseling services that were offered at their school and completely unaware that there were counseling services available online. Students said they would not go to a school counselor either online or in person for any of the specified issues. However, more students reacted positively about having access to a school counselor at times of the day and night that went beyond the traditional school hours.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Counselor Education
Department dc:contributor.department
Counselor Education
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2004

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Lunt, Patricia Trompetter
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Belli, Gabriella M.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Reynolds, James
  • Getz, Hilda M.
  • Brott, Pamelia E.
  • Bodenhorn, Nancy E.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-04052004-135825
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/26643

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Lunt, Patricia Trompetter. Adolescents' Willingness to Utilize Online Counseling. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26643