Killarna mot tjejerna; har de samma spelplan för matchen i klinisk prestation? : En utforskande sekundärstudie på psykologprogrammet i Örebro

Sammanfattning: Having clinical skills is an essential part of working as a psychologist. This thesis aimed to investigate the importance of different factors in relation to clinical performance among psychology students, and whether the relationships can be moderated by students' gender. This study was especially interested in emotional factors (perceived stress, worry), psychological management abilities (coping with stress, emotional regulation) as well as self-efficacy and time of preparation. Clinical performance was explored in two contexts; a simulated setting (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) and a natural setting (clinical internship). The data in this study was collected from a larger project at Örebro University. The sample consisted of 46 psychology students from Örebro University (67 % females). The results showed that none of the factors investigated had a linear relationship with clinical performance in neither of the settings explored. However, gender moderated the relationship between three investigated factors and clinical performance in a simulated setting (OSCE). Male students with higher perceived stress and higher levels of worry performed better clinically, while female students with higher perceived stress performed worse. No relationship was found between worry and performance in female students. Furthermore, male students with higher emotion regulation ability performed less well clinically. The results of this study indicate that gender could play a role in the relationship between emotional factors, emotion regulation abilities and clinical performance. Further investigation is needed to understand these relationships more thoroughly. This knowledge can contribute to creating conditions that foster psychology student’s clinical performance.