Principal-agent theory states that there is continual tension between bureaucrats and those who have legal authority over their behavior. One observation has been that principals often lose control over their agents. School psychologists can be viewed as agents, and administrators and the public as their principals. Data from a sample of New York state school psychologists are used to examine the extent to which school psychologists' participation in AIDS education programming within the schools is responsive to principals' desires. Results are interpreted in terms of principal-agent theory.
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