Psychologists frequently treated and were more knowledgeable about working with adults ages 18 to 64, but they were not as experienced with children and adolescents.
The more often psychologists see patients of a certain age, the more knowledgeable they are with treating that age group, according to data from APA’s Center for Workforce Studies (CWS). Specific findings from the data:
- How frequently psychologists treated patients from a population group is highly associated with psychologists’ self-reported cultural responsiveness ratings across age groups.1
- Patient caseloads and cultural responsiveness ratings were highest (in order by caseload) for three adult age groups (adults ages 26 to 49, adults ages 50 to 64, and adults ages 18 to 25). Caseloads and ratings were lowest for children and adolescents. Caseloads and ratings for older adults fell in the middle of the distribution.
- Findings suggest there may be gaps in preparation to work with some age groups, such as children and adolescents. About 46% of psychologists reported increases in demand from adolescents,2 also suggesting gaps in workforce capacity to respond to population health needs.
Want more information? See CWS’s interactive data tools or email.
