title: Practicing psychologists' sexual intervention self-efficacy and willingness to treat sexual issues.
abstract: Many clients who are not seeking sex therapy experience sexual concerns that affect their overall psychological well-being. However, they may be hesitant to broach them if clinicians do not ask about these issues. The current study assessed a model of how sex education and training affect clinicians' sexual intervention self-efficacy (confidence addressing sexual issues) and, in turn, their willingness to address sexual issues. Participants who had completed their graduate work and internship and had been working for more than a year providing therapy to adults were recruited for an on-line survey from the Canadian Registrar of Health Service Providers, the American Psychological Association, and provincial licensing organizations; 110 psychologists completed the survey. Psychologists were found to lack self-efficacy, particularly related to their ability to directly address clients' sexual concerns (Skills Self-Efficacy) and ability to relay accurate information (Information Self-Efficacy). They also did not routinely ask clients about sexual issues. Bootstrapping analysis showed that, consistent with the proposed model, participants who had more graduate level sex education obtained significantly more sex education following internship. This, in turn, was associated with significantly higher Skills Self-Efficacy and Information Self-Efficacy and, ultimately, to clinicians engaging in significantly more intervention behaviors. Sex education and training did not relate to self-efficacy regarding appearing comfortable and being unbiased when addressing sexual issues with clients (Comfort/Bias Self-Efficacy). The results were discussed in terms of the role of graduate education in enhancing sexual intervention self-efficacy as well as the role of self-efficacy in psychologists' willingness to treat their clients' sexual problems and concerns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada.
authors.forename: S Andrea
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: E Sandra
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Byers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012736:Sex Education; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*