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Preferred term

deficit hypothesis  

Definition

  • Social science and medical literature, including research on mental health and counseling, has frequently been based on presuppositions that all individuals who differ from members of the sociopolitically dominant cultural group in the United States (i.e., male, heterosexual, Caucasian, Western European Americans of middle-class socioeconomic status and Christian religious affiliation) are deficient by comparison. This deficit hypothesis is particularly apparent in scientific literature presumptions that attribute psychological differences from Caucasians to deviance and pathology. [Source: Encyclopedia of Counseling; Deficit Hypothesis]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/deficit_hypothesis

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