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Preference in Random Assignment: Implications for the Interpretation of Randomized Trials

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Abstract

Random assignment to a preferred experimental condition can increase service engagement and enhance outcomes, while assignment to a less-preferred condition can discourage service receipt and limit outcome attainment. We examined randomized trials for one prominent psychiatric rehabilitation intervention, supported employment, to gauge how often assignment preference might have complicated the interpretation of findings. Condition descriptions, and greater early attrition from services-as-usual comparison conditions, suggest that many study enrollees favored assignment to new rapid-job-placement supported employment, but no study took this possibility into account. Reviews of trials in other service fields are needed to determine whether this design problem is widespread.

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Acknowledgements

Work on this article was funded by National Institute of Mental Health grants to the first and second authors (MH62628; MH01903). We are indebted to Ann Hohmann, Ph.D. for her supportive monitoring of the NIMH research grant that fostered this interdisciplinary collaboration, and to anonymous reviewers who offered invaluable insights during manuscript preparation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Community Intervention Research, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, 02478, USA

    Cathaleene Macias & Charles F. Rodican

  2. Department of Counseling and Personnel Services, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Paul B. Gold

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

    William A. Hargreaves

  4. Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA

    Elliot Aronson

  5. Center for Evaluation and Program Improvement, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Leonard Bickman

  6. Harvard University Health Services, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA

    Paul J. Barreira

  7. Institutional Research, Wharton County Junior College, Wharton, TX, 77488, USA

    Danson R. Jones

  8. Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    William H. Fisher

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  1. Cathaleene Macias
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Correspondence to Cathaleene Macias.

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Macias, C., Gold, P.B., Hargreaves, W.A. et al. Preference in Random Assignment: Implications for the Interpretation of Randomized Trials. Adm Policy Ment Health 36, 331–342 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-009-0224-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-009-0224-0

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