Validation of a Brief Form of the Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory

Authors

Scott A. Sabella, University at BuffaloFollow
Jared C. Schultz, University of Arizona
Trenton J. Landon, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin

Volume

63

Issue

2

Publisher

Sage Publications, Inc.

Publication Date

5-16-2019

First Page

115

Last Page

124

Abstract

The Supervisory Working Alliance Inventory–Trainee Form (SWAI-T) is among the most frequently used instruments for measuring the quality of supervisor–supervisee relationships within counselor supervision. Although the full-scale SWAI-T instrument has proven utility, there are instances when a shorter form may be useful for research and field applications. The current study used secondary data from a pair of cross-sectional studies to test the utility of a brief form of the SWAI-T in a two-step process: (a) reduction of the SWAI-T based on item analyses from an electronic survey of 87 rehabilitation counselors working in a Western state vocational rehabilitation agency and (b) an initial validation study of the instrument using electronic survey responses from a national sample of 228 rehabilitation counselors working in private rehabilitation. The resultant 5-item scale showed evidence of high internal consistency, convergent validity, and minimal differences in psychometric properties relative to the full-scale instrument. An abbreviated supervisory working alliance scale offers practical advantages for select research purposes and for continuous evaluation of supervisory relationships in field environments.

Recommended Citation

Sabella, S. A., Schultz, J. C., & Landon, T. J. (2020). Validation of a brief form of the supervisory working alliance inventory. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin 63(2), 115- 124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034355219846652