Psychology Predoctoral Internship Match Rates by Disability Type

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the match rates of psychology predoctoral internship applicants by disability type. Method: Through the use of publicly available data from the 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016 Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers internship applicant surveys, differences in match rate for applicants with different types of disabilities, as compared with nondisabled applicants, were analyzed. Additionally, trends in match rates for applicants with different disability types over time were analyzed. Results: Across disability type, applicants with disabilities tended to have lower match rates than did applicants without disabilities. These differences were particularly large in applicants with physical/orthopedic disabilities and learning disabilities. These gaps in match rates were narrowing for some types of disabilities but widening for others. Conclusion: Disabled internship applicants experience consistent, negative disparities internship match rates compared with their nondisabled peers. Psychologists must take action to identify and ameliorate the causes of these disparities and address the chronic underrepresentation of psychologists with disabilities.