Do Mandates Matter? The Impact of Continuing Education Mandates on Participation in Continuing Professional Development Activities

Recent research has noted that psychologists in continuing education (CE)-mandating jurisdictions have higher rates of participation in CE than those in nonmandating jurisdictions. The current study capitalized on an "experiment of nature" by examining the impact of CE mandates in a state that had just recently enacted, but had not yet implemented, mandated CE. A survey of 410 licensed psychologists obtained from the Illinois Psychological Association compared those who were aware of the mandate with those who were not yet aware of it. Results indicated that an awareness of the impending mandates was associated with higher levels of participation in formal CE, but not in informal, forms of professional development. Findings are discussed in relation to the role of CE in maintaining professional competencies and public trust, and recommendations are outlined for future research that would contribute to the development of evidence-based continuing education.