Research Training Environment, Attitudes toward Research, and Research Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This study sought to enhance the reliability of the Research Training Environment Scale (RTES) at the subscale level and to determine the relationship of the research training environment to several variables theorized to be either related or unrelated to that environment. One hundred seventy-three graduate students from 6 doctoral programs in counseling, clinical, and school psychology responded to the measures. Internal consistency and retest reliability of the RTES were substantially improved Consistent with our hypotheses, all 9 subscales and the total score of the revised RTES correlated positively with research self-efficacy and changes in attitudes toward research during graduate education; likewise, as expected, the RTES was unrelated to participants' interest in the practitioner role and minimally related to their general self-esteem. Contrary to the hypotheses, RTES was minimally related to interest in the role of scientist.