Current Use (and Misuse) of ANCOVA in Counseling Research.

Despite repeated discussions of the dangers of covariance corrections, the use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) continues in situations that should preclude its use. Because the use of ANCOVA is particularly appealing in much counseling research (in which groups are often intact and sample sizes are often small for treatment interventions), the purpose of this paper was to examine the use and misuse of ANCOVA in the counseling literature. The use of ANCOVA was examined in three counseling journals from 1997 through 2001. The Journal of Counseling and Development, Counselor Education and Supervision, and the International Journal of Play Therapy were selected for the study. Overall, ANCOVA was used in 21 of the 250 articles reviewed. Researchers primarily used univariate applications of ANCOVA, and generally used intact groups and unbalanced cells. Most did not comment on some basic assumptions associated with ANCOVA, including the very important homogeneity of regression assumption. Recommendations for improved use of ANCOVA are presented. (Contains 2 tables and 32 references.) (SLD)