Professional identity perception of psychologists

Tekom dveh študij smo raziskali poklicno identiteto psihologov. Poklicna identiteta zajema samozaznane značilnosti, relevantne za poklic osebe. V prvi študiji, ki je bila replikacija, smo preučili, katere cilje so psihologi zaznavali kot izključne za psihološke intervencije, katere naloge so dojemali kot izključno psihološke ter katere naloge so videli kot deljene z drugimi strokovnjaki. To smo storili na podlagi vsebinske analize odgovorov 71 udeležencev na tri odprta vprašanja. Najpogosteje navedeni cilji so bili promocija spremembe, promocija blagostanja, izboljšanje posameznika, psihološko znanje, podpora posameznika, razrešitev stiske, razumevanje posameznika in medosebni odnosi. Najpogosteje navedene psihološke naloge so bile psihološka diagnostika, psihološko testiranje, psihološko svetovanje, psihoterapija in svetovanje. Kljub temu da navedeni cilji in naloge niso bili nujno edinstveno psihološki, smo jih interpretirali kot pomembne za psihologe in njihovo poklicno identiteto. V drugi študiji smo razvili nov Vprašalnik poklicne identitete psihologov. Vprašalnik je vseboval štiri dimenzijeGlobalno identiteto, Kompetentnost, Pripadnost skupini psihologov in Edinstvenost. Na vzorcu 236 psihologov smo preverili psihometrične značilnosti vprašalnika. Končna faktorska struktura vprašalnika z 21 postavkami je bila jasna in je pojasnila pribl. 43 % variance. Vprašalnik je bil v celoti zanesljiv pri Cronbachovem α = ,86. Posamezne dimenzije so bile od nizko zanesljive pri Cronbachovem α = ,67 do visoko zanesljive pri Cronbachovem α = ,81. Preverili smo tudi povezanost med poklicno identiteto ter delovnim zadovoljstvom, ki sta se izkazala kot pomembno zmerno pozitivno povezana. Psihologi so v splošnem samoporočali močno poklicno identiteto ter visoko delovno zadovoljstvo.In two studies, we explored the professional identity of psychologists. Professional identity consists of self-perceived characteristics relevant for the person’s profession. In the first study, which was a replication, we examined which goals psychologists perceive as exclusive to psychological interventions, which tasks they perceive as performed solely by psychologists, and which tasks they perceive as shared with other professionals. We accomplished this by performing content analysis of open answers to three questions from 71 psychologists. The most frequent goals were promotion of change, promotion of well-being, betterment of individuals, psychological knowledge, support of individuals, distress relief, understanding of individuals, and interpersonal relations. The most frequent tasks were psychological diagnosis, psychological testing, psychological counselling, psychotherapy, and counselling. Although the listed goals and tasks were not necessarily uniquely psychological, we interpreted them as important to psychologists and their professional identity. In the second study, we developed a new Questionnaire of Psychologists’ Professional Identity. The questionnaire had four dimensions: Global identity, Competency, Belonging to a group of psychologists, and Uniqueness. On a sample of 236 psychologists, we assessed the psychometric characteristics of the questionnaire. The final factorial structure of the questionnaire with 21 items was clear and explained cca. 43% of the variance. The questionnaire was overall reliable, with Cronbach’s α = .86. The individual dimensions ranged from poorly reliable at Cronbach’s α = .67 to highly reliable at Cronbach\u27s α = .81. We also examined the correlation between professional identity and job satisfaction, which was statistically significant and moderately positive. Psychologists generally reported a strong professional identity and high job satisfaction