Abstract
The authors examined the retention rates of 191 participants who were assigned to an episode of substance abuse treatment. Two types of attrition, due to participants withdrawing prematurely from treatment or failing to complete a posttest survey, were investigated. A significant finding of the study was that attrition can be predicted with some certainty. In spite of being a consistent predictor of attrition, however, quantitative measures explained only about 27 % of the variance in therapy outcomes. Therefore, recommendations for future research were included to highlight the importance of exploring the impact of contextual factors on client retention.
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Authors’ Notes: Dr. Allen is a licensed psychotherapist in the Outpatient Substance Abuse program of Regional Mental Health Center, 3903 Indianapolis Boulevard, East Chicago, Indiana 46312, USA. Dr. Olson is an associate professor in the Community Psychology program of National Louis University, 122 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60603, USA. The authors would like to thank Dr. Judah J. Viola, Dr. Suzette Fromm Reed, and Dr. Tiffeny R. Jimenez for their assistance with this study. Please direct correspondence to Robert Sky Allen at skyallen@comcast.net, 219-392-6998 (fax). The authors wish to confirm that there is no known conflict of interest associated with this manuscript, and there has been no financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome. The authors confirm that the manuscript was written and approved by the named authors, and that there are no other persons who satisfy the criteria for authorship but are not listed. The authors confirm that they have given due consideration to the protection of intellectual property associated with this manuscript, and that they followed the policies and regulations of their institutions concerning intellectual property. They further confirm that any aspect of this manuscript that involved human participants has been conducted with the ethical approval of all relevant bodies. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere, nor has it been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.
Appendices
Appendix A
Simple Screening Instrument for AOD Abuse
Self-Administered Form
Directions: The questions that follow are about your use of alcohol and other drugs. Your answers will be kept private. Mark the response that best fits for you. Answer the questions in terms of your experiences in the past six months.
During the last six months. . .
Appendix B
Scale Data Indices
SEX: | |
Male | 1 |
Female | 2 |
RACE/ETHNICITY: | |
Black/African American | 1 |
White/European American | 2 |
Hispanic/Latino/Latina | 3 |
Native American | 4 |
Asian/Asian American | 5 |
Pacific Islander | 6 |
Other | 7 |
AGE: | |
18–24 | 1 |
25–34 | 2 |
35–44 | 3 |
45–54 | 4 |
55–64 | 5 |
65+ | 6 |
MARITAL STATUS: | |
Not married/never married | 1 |
Married/living together | 2 |
Divorced/separated/widowed | 3 |
EDUCATION: | |
Elementary (0–8 years) | 1 |
Some high school (1–3 years) | 2 |
High school graduate (4 years) | 3 |
Some college (1–3 years) | 4 |
College graduate (4 years or more) | 5 |
OCCUPATION: | |
Production worker | 1 |
Professional specialty | 2 |
Sales | 3 |
Service industry | 4 |
Technical | 5 |
Transportation or material moving | 6 |
Law enforcement | 7 |
Military | 8 |
Entertainment | 9 |
Other | 10 |
None | 11 |
SURVEY QUESTIONS: | |
Yes | 1 |
No | 2 |
ANSA LEVEL OF NEED: | |
Mild | 1 |
Moderate | 2 |
Moderately severe | 3 |
Severe | 4 |
Profound | 5 |
ATTRITION: | |
Completed treatment | 1 |
Did not complete treatment | 2 |
Unable to contact | 3 |
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Allen, R.S., Olson, B.D. Predicting Attrition in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders. Int J Ment Health Addiction 14, 728–742 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9602-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-015-9602-x