Measuring the working alliance in advisor-advisee relationships in graduate school

Drawing from the working alliance literature, the authors constructed the A dvisory Working Alliance Inventory (AWAI) to measure the graduate advising relationship from the student's perspective. Two hundred eighty-one counsel ing psychology doctoral students participated in the Ist study (79% respons e rate). Three factors (Rapport, Apprenticeship, and Identification-Individ uation) were extracted by factor analysis. The AWAI showed very good intern al consistency reliability. Scale validity was supported by positive correl ations between the AWAI and measures of advisee research self-efficacy and attitudes toward research, as well as the perceived expertness, attractiven ess, and trustworthiness of the advisor. Forty-one students participated in the 2nd study, in which the AWAI demonstrated excellent test-retest reliab ility over a 2-week interval. Implications of the advising working alliance are discussed for doctoral training and areas for future research are prov ided.