Nationwide, the student debt crisis has been worsening, exacerbated by gradual changes to higher education funding since the 1980s. Recent studies (e.g., Kurz, Li, & Vine, 2018) have demonstrated that Millennials are the most educated, most student loan-indebted, and poorest (in income and wealth) generation to date. Doran, Kraha, Marks, Ameen, and El-Ghoroury (2016) similarly demonstrated that student loan debt in graduate psychology is substantial. However, Doran and colleagues' results diverged from the extant literature in observing no between-groups demographic differences in borrowing. Thus, first, the present study sought to provide an updated view of student loan debt in graduate psychology education, and to examine changes in student loan borrowing over time. Second, we sought to expand understanding from a focus solely on cumulative debt to include financial stressors. Finally, we sought to address the discrepancies between Doran and colleagues' study and the extant literature by examining whether psychology trainees and professionals from marginalized backgrounds are disproportionately affected by student loan debt and financial stressors. Consistent with most extant literature and contrary to Doran and colleagues, Black/African American participants and participants with lower socioeconomic status reported borrowing more, though no differences were observed by sex. Participants with lower socioeconomic status, as well as students and early career psychologists (those who received their doctorates within the last 10 years), also reported greater financial distress, and greater impacts on their personal and professional lives. Finally, student loan borrowing was shown to increase over time, even adjusting for inflation. Results and implications will be discussed.

This study was a social dominance theory-driven multimethod investigation of multicultural competence. Given the concerns with self-report, we examined the relationship between study variables and both self-report and performance-based multicultural competence. We also tested competing hypotheses regarding the relationship between the multicultural competence measures. We examined two samples: one of counselor trainees ( N = 93), and one of practicing therapists ( N = 107). The overwhelming performance floor effect in the context of self-report ceiling effects was striking and unexpected in its severity. Awareness of privilege was the most consistent predictor, and the only variable related to most multicultural competence measures. Results related to social dominance orientation, just-world beliefs, and empathy differed by sample. A key finding was the failure by a substantial proportion of participants in both samples to even minimally address clients’ sociocultural context. Thus, we focus our discussion on the implications of this result.

Economic precarity is a serious concern in psychology education and training and is experienced to a greater degree by the students of color and students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. The present study examined differences in economic precarity and likelihood of delaying life milestones in a sample of firstgeneration (n = 74) and continuing-generation (n = 249) doctoral students and graduates in psychology. Results demonstrated that first-generation students reported greater credit-related stress, personal and professional financial stressors related to graduate school, and a greater likelihood of delaying life milestones than their continuing-generation peers, after controlling for SES. In addition, credit-related stress and graduate school financial stressors were related to delaying life milestones. No significant differences between first-generation and continuing-generation students were observed in student loan borrowing, general stress, or financial distress. Findings highlight the unique economic precarity of first-generation students in professional psychology and demonstrate the importance of disentangling SES and first-generation status in this population. Public Significance StatementThis study demonstrates that first-generation students in professional psychology delay major life milestones, participation in the profession, and the economy. These patterns hold even after accounting for socioeconomic status. It is therefore critical to develop support and advocacy efforts specifically for first-generation students in the professional psychology pipeline.

No abstract

No abstract