Factors Associated with Dropping Out from Outpatient Treatment of Alcohol-Other Drug Abuse

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate what factors cause outpatient substance abuse treatment to be discontinued. Data were collected from three areas: (1) client's background and substance use, (2) therapist's interpersonal functioning, (3) information on the interaction in therapy. The subjects (N = 66) were clients of an outpatient substance abuse treatment clinic. Four therapists participated in the study. Client's age and contact with problem users were factors which accounted for the discontinuation of treatment. Dropout decreased as age increased and became more prevalent as contacts increased. The therapist's interpersonal functioning and the quality of the interaction in therapy also affected on the continuity of treatment. Therapists' interpersonal functioning was associated with clients' ratings of interaction and with dropout: the more highly the therapist's interpersonal functioning was rated, the higher the clients rated the interaction and the less likely they were to discontinue treatment. If both the therapist and the client rated the interaction as successful, treatment was less likely to be abandoned. Conversely, if both parties assessed the interaction to be less successful, the more likely was treatment to be abandoned.

Key Words:

• Alcohol
• drugs
• treatment
• therapist
• dropping out