Research Self-Efficacy, the Research Training Environment, and Research Productivity among Graduate Students in Counseling Psychology

TLDR

The study examined how research self‑efficacy, the research training environment, and research productivity relate among 125 counseling psychology graduate students. Participants completed self‑efficacy, research training environment, and productivity measures, and the analysis explored developmental, gender, and ethnicity differences. Self‑efficacy was positively associated with both the research training environment and productivity, yet the training environment alone did not predict productivity across all participants, highlighting implications for training.

Abstract

The relationship between research self-efficacy, the research training environment, and research productivity was examined among a sample of 125 graduate students in counseling psychology. All participants completed a measure of self-efficacy in research, the Research Training Environment Scale, and a demographic questionnaire that included a measure of research productivity. Results revealed a positive relationship between research self-efficacy and the research training environment, and between self-efficacy and productivity. A significant relationship was not observed between the research training environment and productivity when the data were analyzed across all participants. Developmental differences between beginning versus advanced graduate students were examined, as were possible differences based on gender and ethnicity. Implications of the findings for training and research are discussed.