Ga. Hammel et al., STUDENT EDUCATOR SEX IN CLINICAL AND COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY DOCTORAL TRAINING, Professional psychology, research and practice, 27(1), 1996, pp. 93-97
This study assessed reported rates of sexual liaisons between students
and educators during doctoral training in clinical or counseling psyc
hology. One thousand American Psychological Association members (600 w
omen & 400 men) were anonymously surveyed with a mailed questionnaire;
response rate was 51%. Though only 2% of the male respondents reporte
d sexual contact with an educator, 15% of the female respondents repor
ted having had such contact. The modal liaison was between a 40-year-o
ld, married male educator and a 30-year-old, single female student in
her 2nd year of graduate training. No sexual contacts occurred in the
absence of a working relationship. Respondents were, in retrospect, mo
re likely to view the sexual relationship as coercive, ethically probl
ematic, and a hindrance to the working relationship compared to how th
ey viewed it at the time it occurred. The authors suggest changes in p
rofessional training and revisions to the ethics code.