Untangling the role of the advisory alliance in promoting research development.

Abstract

A significant portion of doctoral programs in clinical and counseling psychology is grounded in the scientist-practitioner model, which emphasizes active involvement in clinical practice and research. Advisors are believed to play an important role in promoting research involvement among doctoral students but the precise mechanisms by which this occurs remains unclear. Structural equation modeling was used to examine whether or not the components of the advisory working alliance (i.e., Rapport and Apprenticeship) influence research productivity both directly and indirectly through the mediator of research self-efficacy. A total of 203 clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students completed measures of advisory alliance, research self-efficacy, and research productivity. Two models were tested. The results indicated that an alternative model with both direct and indirect paths to research productivity produced the best fit to the data. Controlling for year in graduate program, we found that the apprenticeship component of the advisory working alliance both directly and indirectly enhanced research productivity among clinical and counseling psychology doctoral students. Contrary to expectation, we found that having a higher level of rapport with one's advisor was unrelated to research self-efficacy and was associated with decreased research productivity. We discuss the implications of these findings and the need for further research focused on describing effective advising.