The American Psychological Association’s 2015 Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers (APA, 2016) collected information about the demographic and educational characteristics, employment characteristics, and provision of health services of licensed psychologists. This report presents special analyses of the 2015 APA Survey of Psychology Health Services with a focus on career stages. Career stage was coded into four categories based on years since doctorate: early career (1-10 years), mid-career (11-20 years), senior career (21-30 years), and late senior career (31 or more years). Analyses for this report were based on data from 5,272 doctoral-level licensed psychologists. All available data were used; total Ns may be different for individual analyses due to missing values. Unless describing general trends, all results discussed in the report were statistically significant at p < .05.
Additional methodological details and results can be found in the report on the 2015 APA Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers (APA, 2016) and the CWS factsheet series on psychologists providing services to various population groups (APA, 2017).
Key findings include:
Demographic characteristics: Psychologists in earlier career stages had higher proportions of females, racial/ethnic minorities, gay/lesbian/bisexual individuals, and PsyD degree holders. Psychologists in later career stages were more likely to be male, White, heterosexual, and hold PhD or EdD degrees. Marital status showed decreases in single and increases in widowed status as career stage increased. The presence of dependents aligned with career stage.
Practice characteristics: There was a decrease in hours worked at primary position and total hours worked for late senior career psychologists. The most common work setting in all career stages was private practice. Psychologists in earlier career stages had higher proportions working in hospitals and organized settings, whereas psychologists in later stages had higher proportions working in private practice. Psychologists in later stages were also more likely to work in a primary position only and report plans to decrease hours in the next 12 months than psychologists in earlier stages.
Cultural competency: Psychologists in earlier stages felt more prepared by their graduate training to respond to the needs of diverse populations. Generally, knowledge about working with diverse populations was greater for psychologists in earlier stages. Across career stages, individuals used different resources to build cultural competency.
Read the full reportopens in new window (PDF, 1MB).
American Psychological Association. (2015). Demographics of the U.S. psychology workforce: Findings from the American Community Survey. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/workforce/publications/13-demographics/index
American Psychological Association. (2016). 2015 survey of psychology health service providers. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/workforce/publications/15-health-service-providers/index
American Psychological Association. (2017). CWS Factsheet Series: Psychologists providing services to various population groups. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/workforce/factsheets/default
- Appendix: Technical Documentationopens in new window (PDF, 436KB)
- Table 1: Demographic and Educational Characteristics by Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 437KB)
- Table 2: Practice Characteristics by Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 335KB)
- Table 3: Preparedness by Graduate Training to Work with Diverse Populations by Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 280KB)
- Table 4: Knowledge about Working with Populations and Resource Utilization Index by Type of Resource and Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 349KB)
- Figure 1: Mean Hours Worked per Week by Type of Position and Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 198KB)
- Figure 2: Primary Position Work Settings by Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 269KB)
- Figure 3: Practice Plans for Next 12 Months by Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 234KB
- Figure 4: Knowledge about Working with Populations by Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 205KB)
- Figure 5: Resources Utilization Index by Type of Resource and Career Stageopens in new window (PDF, 201KB)
Recommended citation: American Psychological Association. (2017). Career stages of health service psychologists: Special analysis of the 2015 APA Survey of Psychology Health Service Providers. Washington, DC: Author.
This report describes research and analysis conducted by staff members of the American Psychological Association’s Center for Workforce Studies. It does not constitute official policy of the American Psychological Association.
We thank the following individuals for their contributions to this report: Eddy Ameen, Jim Diaz-Granados and Howard Kurtzman.
Copyright© 2017 by the American Psychological Association. This material may be reproduced in whole or in part without fees or permission provided that acknowledgment is given to the American Psychological Association. This material may not be reprinted or translated without prior permission in writing from the publisher. For permission, contact APA, Rights and Permissions, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.