Development and Validation of a Short Version of the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire.

UNLABELLED: The Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) is one of the few theoretically sound and psychometrically valid questionnaires for measuring the SR within clinical supervision. However, its length can make it difficult to use in clinical practice and research. This study aimed to produce a shorter version of the SRQ (the Short Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire: S-SRQ) that retained its reliability and psychometric validity. The SRQ's 67 items were initially reduced using the criteria of external, internal and face validity. Two hundred and three UK trainee clinical psychologists then completed a series of online questionnaires including the S-SRQ and other clinical supervision measures. A Principal Component Analysis identified three components of the S-SRQ: 'safe base', 'reflective education' and 'structure', and an 18-item version was produced. Analyses revealed that the S-SRQ has high internal reliability, adequate test-retest reliability and good convergent, divergent and predictive validity. Participants also rated the S-SRQ as easy to use and potentially helpful for providing feedback on the SR in supervision. The S-SRQ (three subscales, 18 items) is a valid and reliable measure of the SR from the supervisee perspective. The current findings also support aspects of existing models of the SR. The S-SRQ is a promising measure for use in clinical, training and research settings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE: The Short Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (S-SRQ) is a psychometrically reliable and valid 18-item measure of the supervisory relationship based on the SRQ. Clinically, the measure represents a quick and accessible means for supervisees to assess the quality of their supervisory relationship and discuss this with their supervisors. It can also be used in conjunction with the supervisor-completed Supervisory Relationship Measure to support a dyadic discussion about clinical supervision and the supervisory relationship.

Development and validation of the supervisory relationship measure: a self-report questionnaire for use with supervisors.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid and reliable measure of the supervisory relationship (SR) from the perspective of the supervisor. DESIGN: A cross-sectional self-report questionnaire design was used with a repeated component for a subsample. METHOD: Qualitative data from a previous study of the SR (collected by interviews with supervisors) were used to construct an 89-item self-report questionnaire measure (Supervisory Relationship Measure [SRM]). This was administered to 267 clinical psychology supervisors involved in supervising UK trainee clinical psychologists. One hundred and thirty-four participants completed the measure a second time to establish its test-retest reliability. RESULTS: Principal components analysis was used. Five factors were identified and labelled 'safe base', 'supervisor commitment', 'trainee contribution', 'external influences', and 'supervisor investment'. Fifty-one items (comprising five subscales based on the factors identified) were selected for the final measure. Analyses revealed the SRM to have good internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and good construct (convergent and divergent) validity. A preliminary test of predictive (statistical) validity (supervisor satisfaction with the relationship and trainee competence as perceived by the supervisor) yielded promising results. CONCLUSION: The SRM is a valid and reliable measure of the SR from the supervisor perspective. It predicts supervisor satisfaction and preliminary evidence suggests that it may also predict trainee competence (as perceived by the supervisor). The findings are consistent with current theory on the SR. The SRM is, therefore, a promising tool for use in research, clinical, and training settings. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The supervisory relationship measure (SRM) is a new psychometrically sound measure of the supervisory relationship (SR) with clinical and research uses. Clinically, it is a useful and structured way for supervisors to provide constructive feedback to their trainees. It can be used in conjunction with the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) (completed by the supervisee) to support a dyadic discussion about clinical supervision. Currently the measure is only validated on Clinical Psychology trainees and should be used with caution with qualified staff and other professional groups. Participants were predominantly white British supervisors who chose to take part in an internet-based study and thus the sample may not be fully representative of the population.

Development and validation of the Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) in UK trainee clinical psychologists.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a valid and reliable measure of the supervisory relationship (SR) from the supervisee perspective. DESIGN: A cross-sectional questionnaire design was used with a repeated measures component for a sub-sample. METHOD: Qualitative data obtained from a previous study and from review of the literature were used to construct a 111 item self-report questionnaire measure [Supervisory Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ)]. This was administered to 284 British trainee clinical psychologists. Eighty-five participants completed the SRQ a second time to establish its test-retest reliability. RESULTS: Principal components analysis (PCA) identified six components of the SRQ. Three of these reflected the 'facilitative' relationship characteristics of the SR and were labelled 'safe base', 'commitment' and 'structure'. The second set of components reflected the educative and evaluative functions of supervision. These were labelled 'reflective education', 'role model' and 'formative feedback'. Safe base accounted for the greatest proportion of variance in SRQ scores (52 per cent). Analyses using the six subscales subsequently derived from the PCA, revealed the SRQ to have high internal reliability, good test-retest reliability and good construct (convergent and divergent) validity. A preliminary test of predictive validity was conducted. CONCLUSIONS: The SRQ (six subscales, total of 67 items) is a valid and reliable measure of the SR from the supervisee perspective. The present findings support existing models of the SR, and its distinct nature during training as an educative and evaluative process. The SRQ is a promising tool for further research, and is likely to be useful in supervisor training and clinical settings.

"No rights or wrongs, no magic solutions": teachers' responses to bereaved adolescent students.

The study aimed to understand how teachers responded to students bereaved of a parent. The authors interviewed 12 secondary school teachers and implemented a grounded theory design. Participants described how they engage in six central processes: flexibility, openness, support, emotionality, sharing, and communication. The authors conceptualized these processes as continua with opposing actions at each end. Teachers' movement on the continua is fluid, influenced by systemic factors, student-specific factors and factors individual to the teacher. Responses on the continua in relation to each student's bereavement are unique to each teacher-student relationship.

A systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the experience of parents whose child is diagnosed and treated for cancer.

A growing body of research has investigated the experiences of parents of children treated for cancer. Until recently, a qualitative review has not been possible because of the lack of qualitative studies in this area. However, this has changed in recent years. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize the findings from qualitative studies on the experiences of mothers and fathers from different countries and cultures. Twenty-eight qualitative studies were found to meet the inclusion criteria for this review. Key findings included the parents' desire to feel in control, the need to continuously adjust to the unpredictable nature of cancer treatment, the adoption of various coping styles, emotional and practical support being valued, and gender and cultural differences being reported. Clinical implications include the need for health care professionals to provide clear information and aid the sense of control, care to be individualized with gender and cultural backgrounds taken into account, and fathers' needs to be acknowledged and met. Other implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.