Of study, practice, and training, the various challenges faced by psychologists working in this area have been discussed. However, discussion of the practice and skills of professionals working in the licensing of firearm usage is unusual. In order to improve understanding of these activities and this study, we interviewed 14 psychologists acting as experts in licensing the possession of firearms in a southeastern state of Brazil. All subjects were female aged 30-60 years (M = 39.1 years; SD = 7.1 years). The results indicate that a lack of training in expertise in possession of a firearm as well as a training deficit in Psychological Assessment may lead to negative perceptions within this context of action. Bureaucratic and documentary concerns surrounding this assessment, the lack of parameters to evaluate candidate profiles, and the problem of discredit of psychologists as evaluators emerged as key themes, leading to a discussion of the role of training in the dissemination of best practices.
Psychological assessement; Professional ethics; Psychological tests; Firearms