Psychometric evaluation of the Working Alliance Inventory-Therapist version: Current and new short forms.

Background: The Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and its short forms are widely used, although the properties of the therapists' versions have been little studied. Method: We examined the psychometric properties of two short forms (WAI-S-T, WAI-SR-T), and explored the creation of a psychometrically stronger short form using contemporary measure development techniques. Well-fitting items from the full 36-item WAI were identified in a development sample (131 therapists, 688 patients) using multi-level Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling, accounting for therapist rated effects. Multi-level Item Response Theory (IRT) methods aided creation of a revised short form (WAI-S-T-IRT). Factor structures of the three forms were assessed using multi-level ML estimation with robust standard errors. Results: Collinearity problems for the Goal and Task dimensions led to testing a two-factor model (Goal-Task, Bond). All three measures showed satisfactory fit; the WAI-S-T-IRT fit slightly better but differences were minor. Testing the structures in an independent sample (N = 1117) yielded essentially the same results. No version showed strong measurement invariance. Discussion: Continued use of current therapist forms is supported; differentiation of theoretical dimensions is difficult with current measures, and may not be possible with self-report forms.

Interpersonal competencies: Responsiveness, technique, and training in psychotherapy.

Professional practice in psychology is anchored in interpersonal or relational skills. These skills are essential to successful interactions with clients and their families, students, and colleagues. Expertise in these skills is desired and expected for the practicing psychologist. An important but little-studied aspect of interpersonal skills is what Stiles and colleagues (Stiles, Honos-Webb, & Surko, 1998; Stiles, 2009, 2013) have called appropriate responsiveness. In treatment relationships, appropriate responsiveness is the therapist's ability to achieve optimal benefit for the client by adjusting responses to the current state of the client and the interaction. This article was designed to clarify this aspect of responsiveness, showing its links to empathy, illustrating how responsiveness has been detected in controlled clinical trials, discussing how educators and supervisors have worked to enhance students' responsiveness, and considering how appropriate responsiveness has been assessed. The article also discusses the development of skills underlying appropriate responsiveness and the role of stable differences in talent in training of professional psychologists. Notwithstanding other pessimistic reports on psychologists' expertise, demonstrable expertise may exist in the effective, responsive use of these skills in treatment settings. Appropriate responsiveness may be a variety of executive functioning, organizing and guiding the use of many specific competencies. As such it may be a metacompetency, with implications for the design of competency schemes. Key to all of these considerations is the distinction between therapeutic techniques and their responsive use, which involves astute judgment as to when and how to utilize these responses to best effect in the treatment situation.

Commentary on Stiers and colleagues' guidelines for competency development and measurement in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training.

Comments on the article, "Guidelines for competency development and measurement in rehabilitation psychology postdoctoral training," by Stiers et al. (see record 2014-55195-001). Stiers and colleagues have provided a thorough and well-conceived set of guidelines that lay out the competencies expected for graduates of postdoctoral residencies in rehabilitation psychology, accompanied by a set of more specific, observable indicators of the residents' competence level. This work is an important aspect of the broader project of the Rehabilitation Psychology Specialty Council (APA Division 22, the American Board of Rehabilitation Psychology, the Foundation for Rehabilitation Psychology, the Academy of Rehabilitation Psychology, and the Council of Rehabilitation Psychology Postdocotral Training Programs) to develop overall guidelines for programs providing postdoctoral training in this field (Stiers et al., 2012).

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Patient Version of the Working Alliance Inventory--Short Form Revised.

The working alliance concerns the quality of collaboration between patient and therapist in psychotherapy. One of the most widely used scales for measuring the working alliance is the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI). For the patient-rated version, the short form developed by Hatcher and Gillaspy (WAI-SR) has shown the best psychometric properties. In two confirmatory factor analyses of the WAI-SR, approximate fit indices were within commonly accepted norms, but the likelihood ratio chi-square test showed significant ill-fit. The present study used Bayesian structural equations modeling with zero mean and small variance priors to test the factor structure of the WAI-SR in three different samples (one American and two Swedish; N = 235, 634, and 234). Results indicated that maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis showed poor model fit because of the assumption of exactly zero residual correlations. When residual correlations were estimated using small variance priors, model fit was excellent. A two-factor model had the best psychometric properties. Strong measurement invariance was shown between the two Swedish samples and weak factorial invariance between the Swedish and American samples. The most important limitation concerns the limited knowledge on when the assumption of residual correlations being small enough to be considered trivial is violated.

Development and validation of a 6-item working alliance questionnaire for repeated administrations during psychotherapy.

Recently, researchers have started to measure the working alliance repeatedly across sessions of psychotherapy, relating the working alliance to symptom change session by session. Responding to questionnaires after each session can become tedious, leading to careless responses and/or increasing levels of missing data. Therefore, assessment with the briefest possible instrument is desirable. Because previous research on the Working Alliance Inventory has found the separation of the Goal and Task factors problematic, the present study examined the psychometric properties of a 2-factor, 6-item working alliance measure, adapted from the Working Alliance Inventory, in 3 patient samples (ns = 1,095, 235, and 234). Results showed that a bifactor model fit the data well across the 3 samples, and the factor structure was stable across 10 sessions of primary care counseling/psychotherapy. Although the bifactor model with 1 general and 2 specific factors outperformed the 1-factor model in terms of model fit, dimensionality analyses based on the bifactor model results indicated that in practice the instrument is best treated as unidimensional. Results support the use of composite scores of all 6 items. The instrument was validated by replicating previous findings of session-by-session prediction of symptom reduction using the Autoregressive Latent Trajectory model. The 6-item working alliance scale, called the Session Alliance Inventory, is a promising alternative for researchers in search for a brief alliance measure to administer after every session.

The internship imbalance in professional psychology: current status and future prospects.

The internship is an essential part of doctoral training in professional psychology. Most students access internships through the annual match sponsored by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). For two decades the match has seen an increasing shortfall of internship positions relative to applicants, exceeding 650 unmatched clinical students as of 2013. Efforts to solve this problem have not met appreciable success. This review discusses the structure of the internship placement process, including and beyond the APPIC match, and identifies the reasons for the failed efforts, which lie principally in the varied standards for an acceptable internship among doctoral programs. Efforts to establish a common standard and the need for a governance structure to enforce whatever standard is agreed upon are discussed. Projections for the future of the placement process and the imbalance are sketched, and links to other issues in the field are briefly reviewed.

Contraceptive history, unintended pregnancy, and contraceptive method choice among urban low-income women.

BACKGROUND: Nearly half of pregnancies in the United States are unintended, a proportion that has remained constant in the last decade. Half of unintended pregnancies occur among women not using any contraception, but little is known about how contraceptive history and contraceptive priorities predict contraceptive method choice. METHODS: Among 1454 women not currently seeking pregnancy who completed a computer-based contraceptive assessment module at an urban reproductive health center, factors associated with not obtaining a contraceptive method were assessed. RESULTS: The 1454 participants were low-income (98% had incomes <200% federal poverty level), predominantly Hispanic (71%), and foreign-born (76%). None were seeking to become pregnant, but 15% did not obtain a method of contraception. In adjusted analyses, women who had ever had an unintended pregnancy-41% of the sample-were significantly more likely to leave their visit without receiving a method (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.67, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-2.30), as were women who were not using contraception at the start of their visit (AOR=3.82, 95% CI: 2.73-5.35). In an adjusted model, prioritizing no hormones or the preference of not wanting to interrupt sex to use a method was not a significant predictor of obtaining a method. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses revealed that women at higher risk of unintended pregnancy identified by their contraceptive histories were significantly more likely to leave their healthcare visit without a method of contraception. Additional research is needed on ways to help women obtain effective, medically indicated contraceptive methods that fit their reproductive life goals, priorities, and preferences.

The IIS-32: a brief inventory of interpersonal strengths.

The inventory of interpersonal strengths (IIS-64; Hatcher & Rogers, 2009 ) is a 64-item self-report measure based on the interpersonal circle (Pincus & Gurtman, 2006 ) with 8 subscales, or octants, that measure positive interpersonal characteristics covering the full range of the interpersonal circle. The IIS-64 is a valid and psychometrically robust measure of positive interpersonal features. However, because assessment time is precious in many contexts, briefer instruments might be of considerable value. We report the development of a brief version of the IIS-64 that retains the strong measurement characteristics of the original. Nonparametric item response theory methods were utilized in conjunction with factor-analytic item selection procedures in the original IIS-64 derivation sample of 1,377 to derive a 32-item version of the IIS that best represented a circumplex structure. Circumplex structure was confirmed in an additional college sample (N = 956) and in a clinical sample (N = 496). Convergence with the IIS-64 was confirmed, as were alpha and test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was demonstrated with measures of the Big Five factors. The IIS-32 should prove to be a useful and flexible measure of interpersonal strengths.

Tailored health messaging improves contraceptive continuation and adherence: results from a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Discontinuation and incorrect use of contraceptive methods may contribute to as many as 1 million unintended pregnancies annually in the United States. Interventions to improve contraceptive method continuation and adherence are needed. STUDY DESIGN: A three-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted at two family planning sites testing the efficacy of a computer-based contraceptive assessment module in increasing the proportion of patients who continued use of their chosen contraceptive method 4 months after the family planning visit (n=224). RESULTS: In analyses adjusting for clinical site of recruitment, family planning patients who used the module and received individually tailored health materials (n=78), compared to those in the control group (n=70), were significantly more likely to continue use of their chosen contraceptive method [95% compared to 77%; odds ratio (OR)=5.48; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.72-17.42] and to adhere to their method (86% compared to 69%; OR=2.74; 95% CI: 1.21-6.21). No significant differences in these outcomes were found for participants who used the module but did not receive tailored materials (n=76), compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Tailored health materials significantly improved contraceptive method continuation and adherence. Additional research on the impact of the intervention on continuation and adherence in a larger sample and over a longer follow-up period is merited.

Randomized controlled trial of a computer-based module to improve contraceptive method choice.

BACKGROUND: Unintended pregnancy is common in the United States, and interventions are needed to improve contraceptive use among women at higher risk of unintended pregnancy, including Latinas and women with low educational attainment. STUDY DESIGN: A three-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted at two family planning sites serving low-income, predominantly Latina populations. The trial tested the efficacy of a computer-based contraceptive assessment module in increasing the proportion of patients choosing an effective method of contraception (<10 pregnancies/100 women per year, typical use). Participants were randomized to complete the module and receive tailored health materials, to complete the module and receive generic health materials, or to a control condition. RESULTS: In intent-to-treat analyses adjusted for recruitment site (n=2231), family planning patients who used the module were significantly more likely to choose an effective contraceptive method: 75% among those who received tailored materials [odds ratio (OR)=1.56; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.23-1.98] and 78% among those who received generic materials (OR=1.74; 95% CI: 1.35-2.25), compared to 65% among control arm participants. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support prior research suggesting that patient-centered interventions can positively influence contraceptive method choice.

[Dimensions of the therapeutic alliance from patients' view--development of the "Skala Therapeutische Allianz-Revised STA-R"]. / Dimensionen der therapeutischen Beziehung aus Patienten-Perspektive--Entwicklung der "Skala Therapeutische Allianz-Revised STA-R".

Studies on the dimensionality of the therapeutic alliance had been conducted by Hatcher et al. factor-analyzing three widely used alliance measures (Helping Alliance Questionnaire, Working Alliance Inventory, California Psychotherapy Alliance Scales) and proposing two additional dimensions (on affects and interpersonal aspects). The present study intended to construct an economic German patient questionnaire on the basis of this preliminary work, which represents relevant dimensions of the therapeutic alliance in an economic way. 36 items, purposed by Hatcher et al. were translated into German. They have been examined by confirmative factor analysis (sample 1: N=301 psychotherapy patients). As a result of further factor analysis, the "Skala Therapeutische Allianz - Revised STA-R" was developed. The 17-items questionnaire has 4 scales: "Confident Collaboration", "Bond", "Patient Fear" and "Therapist Interference", which correspond to Hatcher et al. The latter scales have not yet been considered in German questionnaires. A confirmatory factor analysis with sample 2 (N=427 patients) showed a good model fit with these factors, too. Correlations of the therapeutic alliance at the end of the treatment with change in symptom load (SCL-90-R) proved to be significant (rSTA-R, GSI=0.43**).

Development and validation of a measure of interpersonal strengths: The Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths.

An Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths (IIS) was developed and validated in a series of large college student samples. Based on interpersonal theory and associated methods, the IIS was designed to assess positive characteristics representing the full range of interpersonal domains, including those generally thought to have negative qualities (e.g., introversion, coldness, submissiveness). The 8 subscales (octants) of the 64-item IIS demonstrated good circumplex features and reliability. Tests comparing Big 5 interpersonal factors, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), Battery of Interpersonal Capabilities (BIC), and other interpersonal measures demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity and shared interpersonal structure. The IIS accounted for significant additional variance in life satisfaction and quality of personal relationships beyond the IIP and the BIC.

How a return to theory could help alliance research.

This report aims to clarify alliance theory and extend its role in psychotherapy research. Bordin's (1979) alliance theory concerns the nature and quality of participants' collaborative, purposive work. Alliance is actualized in therapist techniques, client participation, and the dyad's relational features. Alliance is a property of all components of therapy, a concept superordinate to these components and not a component itself. Viewing technique and alliance as equivalent components of therapy confuses 2 levels of thinking, as does conflating alliance with the overall therapy relationship. Examples from contemporary research reports illustrate these points. The logic of alliance measures is clarified, as are the limits of measures' ability to capture key features of collaborative work. This approach opens new avenues for alliance research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Teaching contraception: an interactive presentation using managing contraception.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether an interactive medical student contraceptive teaching session results in improved knowledge gain or satisfaction when compared with a standard, didactic lecture. STUDY DESIGN: An interactive lecture was compared with a standard lecture among third-year medical students at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine and Medical College of Georgia. Knowledge gain was assessed by comparing correct responses to a posttest with the students' own responses to the same questions given as a pretest before the lecture. Satisfaction with the lecture was assessed on a visual analog scale. Scores and satisfaction ratings were compared within and between lecture groups. RESULTS: A total of 150 students participated. There was a significant increase in test scores within both the interactive and standard groups ( P < .0001 for both groups). The change in scores did not differ significantly between the groups ( P = .087). Although overall satisfaction was significantly greater with the standard lecture ( P = .004), it was high with both lectures. CONCLUSION: Knowledge gain with the interactive lecture was equivalent to that with the standard lecture. Satisfaction with both learning formats was high.

Defining competencies in psychology supervision: a consensus statement.

Supervision is a domain of professional practice conducted by many psychologists but for which formal training and standards have been largely neglected. In this article, supervision is proposed as a core competency area in psychology for which a number of elements reflecting specific knowledge, skills, and values must be addressed to ensure adequate training and professional development of the trainee. Supra-ordinate factors of supervision viewed as permeating all aspects of professional development are proposed. These include the perspective that professional development is a lifelong, cumulative process requiring attention to diversity in all its forms, as well as legal and ethical issues, personal and professional factors, and self- and peer-assessment. A competencies framework is presented with particular elements representing knowledge (e.g., about psychotherapy, research, etc.), skills (including supervising modalities, relationship skills, etc.), values (e.g., responsibility for the clients and supervisee rests with supervisor, etc.), and meta-knowledge. Social contextual factors and issues of education and training, assessment, and future directions also are addressed, with specific elements listed. Suggestions for future work in this area are addressed, including the need to refine further and operationalize competences, develop clear expectations for accreditation and licensure regarding supervision competencies, and expand the description of developmental levels of supervisors from minimal to optimal competence. This is one of a series of articles published together in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Several other articles that resulted from the Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology will appear in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice and The Counseling Psychologist.