Background Professional identity development among psychologists is often assumed to be influenced by participation in professional events; however, empirical evidence remains limited and inconsistent. Methods A cross-sectional explanatory-correlational design was employed using a sample of 364 psychologists working in public, private, and academic sectors. Data were collected using an electronic questionnaire, including a professional event participation index and the Professional Identity Scale in Counseling (PISC). Structural equation modeling (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation was used to analyze relationships among variables. Results Participants demonstrated moderate to high levels of professional event participation (M = 18.15, SD = 4.10) and professional identity (M = 233.40, SD = 24.23). The revised structural model showed that professional event participation did not have a direct effect on professional identity. Educational level emerged as the only significant predictor (p = .036), while other variables were not significant. Conclusion The results imply that formal education is more closely connected with psychologists’ professional identity than professional events or experience. These findings emphasize the importance of academic preparation in professional identity building and challenge the presumed developmental impact of professional event attendance.
Khatatbeh et al. (2026) studied this question.