LanguageTerm (authority = ISO 639-3:2007); (type = text)
English
Abstract (type = abstract)
Client and therapist perceptions regarding their therapeutic working alliance have been shown to be independently predictive of treatment outcomes. The extent to which patients and therapists agree or disagree about the quality of the therapeutic relationship may be a distinct variable from either individual’s perspective of the quality of the relationship. Recent studies of alliance have explored patient and therapist congruence and discrepancy regarding measurements of the alliance and the degree to which they are predictive of treatment outcomes. This study centers on an investigation of patient-therapist discrepancy in evaluations of the therapeutic relationship as a predictor of treatment participation and outcomes (i.e., alcohol use, alcohol-related problems). To achieve study aims, secondary data analyses were conducted using 741 participants from the outpatient sample of Project MATCH. To examine the extent to which patient-therapist Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) rating discrepancies predicted posttreatment outcomes and treatment participation, a difference score was computed and multiple regression analyses conducted. To further examine patient-therapist WAI discrepancy as a predictor of posttreatment outcomes and treatment participation, both patient and therapist WAI scores were categorized as high or low alliance based on a median split, yielding a 2 by 2 study design (therapist score vs. patient score; low vs. high). Study hypotheses based on this 2 by 2 study design were tested using four analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs). Working alliance discrepancy was not found to be a significant predictor of posttreatment alcohol use behavior, alcohol-related negative consequences, or treatment participation when controlling for baseline measures. No significant interaction effect was found for the combination of patient and therapist alliance levels on posttreatment outcomes when controlling for baseline measures, although significant main effects (p < .05) were detected. The results of the current study do not support the hypothesis that alliance discrepancy accounts for differences in treatment outcomes and treatment participation. Limitations of the study and future directions for research examining alliance discrepancy are discussed.
Subject (authority = LCSH)
Topic
Alcoholism -- Treatment
Subject (authority = local)
Topic
Alcohol treatment
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Clinical Psychology
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10001800001
Identifier
ETD_10578
Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/t3-4mzb-9m88
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (53 pages)
Note (type = degree)
Psy.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Rutgers University. Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.