Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 1990, Vol. 21, No. 2,99-106 Copyright 1990 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0735-7028/90/S00.75 Assessment Practices of Health Psychologists: Survey of APA Division 38 Clinicians Chris Piotrowski University of West Florida Bernard Lubin University of Missouri at Kansas City We surveyed the psychological assessment patterns of a random sample (700 sent, 270 returns: 40% adjusted return rate) of Division 38 members and fellows who were also in APA Division 12 or Division 29. Although general health assessment, neuropsychological assessment, and the assessment of depression were major areas of focus for these clinicians, the majority of testing was performed with a limited number of instruments, usually traditional techniques of assessment. The assessment of pain and evaluation of the aged were not major areas of concentration. Also, psychophysiological and brain-imaging procedures were found to be popular approaches used by health psychology clinicians. The implications of the findings are discussed in light of recent literature on health assessment practices. Health assessment, whether for research or clinical purposes, is a critical cornerstone in the field of health psychology and behav- ioral medicine. In fact, the assessment of health-related disorders, personality and psychogenic factors in illness and disease, specific health behaviors, life-styles, and coping with stress have received much recent attention in the literature (Belar, Deardorff, & Kelly, 1987; Blumenthal & McKee, 1987; Brantley & Bruce, 1986; Do- leys, Meredith, & Ciminero, 1982; Feuerstein, Labbe, & Kucz- mierczyk, 1986; Friedman & DiMatteo, 1989; Gatchel, Baum, & Singer, 1983, pp. 187-211; Gentry, 1984; Krantz, Grunberg, & Baum, 1985; Krug, 1977; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Minter & Kimball, 1980; Prokop & Bradley, 1981; Rodin & Salovey, 1989; Taylor, 1986; Watson & Pennebaker, 1989; Williamson, Davis, & Prather, 1988). Moreover, health assessment has been addressed to specific populations such as children (Beales, 1982; Karoly, 1988), women (Blechman & Brownell, 1988), and the aged (Lawton & Storandt, 1984). Apparently, even novel theoretical and concep- tual approaches to health assessment have been suggested (see Dana, 1984; Lamping, 1985). Despite the emphasis on health assessment in contemporary clinical psychology, relatively few studies have addressed health CHRIS PIOTROWSKI received his MA in psychology from the University of West Florida in 1977. His postgraduate positions include adjunct teaching and research. His main areas of interest include personality assessment and online database literature retrieval. Currently, he serves as a consultant in forensic psychology. BERNARD LUBIN received his PhD from Pennsylvania State University in 1958 and is currently Curators' Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri at Kansas City. He publishes in the areas of test development and validation, group therapy, and organization develop- ment. WE THANK Karen A. Matthews, the Executive Committee of APA Divi- sion 38, Stephen M. Weiss, David A. dayman, and the Membership Office of APA for their assistance. CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed to Chris Piotrowski, Department of Psychology, University of West Flor- ida, Pensacola, Florida 32514. assessment practices and test usage—for example, the pattern and status of health assessment in the everyday practice of clini- cians. Stabler and Mesibov (1984) surveyed members of Ameri- can Psychological Association (APA) Division 38 (Health Psy- chology) and Section 5 of Division 12 (Pediatric Psychologists) on their roles and functions in health care settings; they found diagnostic testing to be a popular activity. This finding was cor- roborated in a survey of psychologists employed in multidisci- plinary pain clinics (Hickling, Sison, & Holtz, 1985). Of perti- nence to our study was that these researchers inquired about psychological test usage and found that although assessment was quite popular in pain clinics, the majority of testing oc- curred with a narrow band of assessment instruments. The clin- ical interview, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inven- tory (MMPI), various pain questionnaires, behavioral assess- ment, and the Beck and Zung Depression Inventories were the most frequently mentioned evaluation methods. Of course, these data were obtained in a specific type of agency. More re- cently, Boswell, Litwin, and Kraft (1988), in surveying more than 1,000 hospital-affiliated psychologists, found that more than 86%considered diagnostic testing a full hospital privilege. More recent data on assessment practices of clinical health psychologists would be desirable. The status of assessment and test use would be important because (a) instruments in health assessment have proliferated in the research and clinical litera- ture over the past decade, (b) many contemporary tests are de- signed to assess specific types of disorders and symptom clus- ters, and (c) computer-based testing has received increasing at- tention, particularly from practitioners. We inquired about assessment practices (both psychologically and psychophysio- logical/neuroradiologic based methods) and investigated test usage patterns with a variety of instruments in several health assessment areas. Division 38 members and fellows were sur- veyed during the summer and fall of 1988. Method Sample To survey clinical health psychologists, we selected the sample (N = 700) from the membership of APA Division 38 who were also members of Division 12 or Division 29. 99 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. 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