Perceptions of Climate in Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs: Development and Initial Validation of the Graduate Program Climate Scale

Measurement of program climate, defined as a sense of environmental safety amid respectful relationships and effective organizational systems, has been associated with a myriad of important outcomes in school and workplace settings. However, climate has received scant attention in the realm of graduate training, including training in psychology health service programs, despite related research suggesting that quality of mentor–mentee relationships and the research training environment influences student satisfaction and educational attainment. The current study presents the initial development of the Graduate Program Climate Scale, a brief 20-item assessment of climate derived from school and workplace climate measures, targeted at clinical psychology doctoral students in scientist-practitioner programs. The scale was found to be internally consistent and correlated with program satisfaction, satisfaction with evaluation and feedback procedures, and confidence in research skills. Importantly, more positive program climate also predicted outcomes related to peers with problems of professional competence, suggesting that program climate is associated with students’ faith in faculty to handle professional competence issues. Results from the current study suggest that the Graduate Program Climate Scale may be a useful tool for examining program-level characteristics and processes associated with success in clinical psychology training programs.