| Abstract [eng] |
Soloveičik, L. (2026). Associations of Lithuanian Clinical Psychologists’ Psychological Assessment Practice with Attitudes Toward Standardized Assessment and Evidence-Based Practice, and Professional Self-Efficacy. Master’s thesis. Vilnius: Vilnius University, 65 pages. Psychological assessment is an important part of clinical psychologists’ professional practice, as it helps to understand clients’ difficulties, make clinical decisions, and plan further support. The aim of this study was to examine the Lithuanian clinical psychologists’ psychological assessment practice and its associations with professional attitudes, professional self-efficacy, and professional and demographic context. Professional attitudes were defined as attitudes toward standardized assessment and evidence-based practice. The study included 101 Lithuanian clinical psychologists. Data were collected using an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic and professional practice questions, an assessment of the frequency of use of specific psychological assessment methods and instruments, the Attitudes Toward Standardized Assessment Scale (ASA), the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale-36 (EBPAS-36), and the Occupational Self-Efficacy Scale (OCCSEFF). Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation, the Mann–Whitney U test, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and multiple linear regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed that participants most frequently used semi-structured clinical interviews, assessment of thinking, attention, and memory, and psychosocial assessment, whereas suicide risk assessment instruments, neuropsychological instruments, and structured clinical psychological interviews were used least often. Participants demonstrated moderately positive professional attitudes toward standardized assessment and evidence-based practice, as well as relatively high professional self-efficacy. More positive attitudes toward standardized assessment were associated with more frequent use of many psychological assessment methods and instruments, whereas attitudes toward evidence-based practice were associated with the use of some methods. Professional self-efficacy was only weakly associated with assessment practice but was related to greater work experience. The findings suggest that the psychological assessment practice of the Lithuanian clinical psychologists who participated in this study was more strongly associated with professional attitudes than with professional self-efficacy. Keywords: clinical psychologists, psychological assessment, standardized assessment, evidence-based practice, professional self-efficacy. |
