This study examined a three-role model of supervision applied to supervisors of resident assistants in higher education. The Supervisory Styles Inventory (SSI; Friedlander & Ward, 1984), which consists of three scales that assess relative emphasis of teacher, counselor, and consultant roles as perceived by supervisors, was used to explore applicability of the model. The SSI and questionnaires concerning demographic characteristics and experiential factors were administered to RA supervisors and a stratified random sample of RAs at North Carolina public universities. Responses were received from 86 supervisors and 363 RAs at 8 institutions. The factor structure underlying RA supervisor responses on the SSI was compared with the factor structure underlying counselor supervisor responses as reported by Friedlander and Ward (1984). Relationships were examined between scores on each of the three SSI scales and supervisor demographic characteristics and experiential factors. Performance on the three SSI scales was compared for subgroups of supervisors: those who differed in training program orientation and those who differed in level of congruence of perceptions with their staffs
