Understanding School Psychologists' Role Identities Through ADHD Related Practices

School psychologists are trained and expected to assume a wide variety of roles when functioning within the school system. From traditional roles involving assessment, intervention, and consultation practices, to more emerging roles utilizing data-driven approaches, school psychologists are equipped to work with students with a diversity of difficulties, such as those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

While previous research has identified the variety and frequency of practices school psychologists engage in when interacting with ADHD students, the present study attempted to take a new approach in organizing this information to better understand role identities and their external correlates. In order to examine school psychologists' identified roles, members from the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP) completed a survey assessing their beliefs about school psychologists' involvement in working with children with ADHD.

Utilizing a latent class analysis (LCA), results indicated that three distinct role identities emerged from the survey data: 1) primary assessment role, 2) broad practice role, and 3) standard role. To better understand the characteristics of these roles, emergent classes were then compared on the basis of reported demographic, employment setting, job satisfaction, and practice discrepancy information. Limitations of the present study, directions for future research, and implications for the field of school-clinical child psychology were discussed.