ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPETENCE AND JOB ROLE AND IDENTITY AMONG DIRECT SERVICE COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGISTS

The relationship between competence and identity and job roles/activit ies of direct service counseling psychologists was investigated by ass essing differences in job role and identity among two groups of eminen t psychologists (American Board of Professional Psychology [ABPP] dipl omates and a peer-nominated Exemplary group) and a group of general ps ychologists (Rank and File). The three groups (N = 189) were compared using the Counseling Psychology Task Inventory (CPTI)-a 73-item instru ment measuring eight broad work areas (Counseling, Research, Supervisi on and Training, Teaching and Training, Administration, Consultation, Writing and Editing, and Professional Development) across three depend ent variables: task importance, relevance to professional identity, an d relative amount of time spent in each task. The Exemplary group diff ered significantly from the Rank and File group only in the amount of time spent in Professional Development (P < .01). No significant diffe rences were found between the two eminent groups or the ABPP and Rank and File groups. Follow-up analyses led to two additional conclusions. First, when divided into groups by percent of time spent in Counselin g in seven of eight work areas, significant differences were noted. Fo r each of the 20 significant comparisons (p < .01), an inverse relatio nship was noted between the mean values within work areas and percenta ge of time spent in Counseling. That is, those who spent relatively mo re time in Counseling yielded lower task importance, relevance to prof essional identity, and time on task scores for the areas of Research, Supervision and Training, Teaching and Training, Administration, Consu ltation, Writing and Editing, and Professional Development. Second, wh en mean values were rank ordered, a consistent pattern of three work a reas was prioritized by respondents to comprise a nucleus of tasks con sistent with the ''life span development'' ethos of counseling psychol ogy. These work areas were Supervision and Training, Counseling, and P rofessional Development.