TY - JOUR PY - 2003// TI - Alliance and dropout in family therapy for adolescents with behavior problems: individual and systemic effects JO - Journal of family psychology A1 - Robbins, Michael S. A1 - Turner, C. W. A1 - Alexander, J. F. A1 - Perez, Gonzalo A. SP - 534 EP - 544 VL - 17 IS - 4 N2 - This study examined the relationship between alliance and retention in family therapy. Alliance was examined at the individual (parent and adolescent) and family levels (within-family differences). Participants were 34 families who received functional family therapy for the treatment of adolescent (aged 12-18 years) behavior problems. Families were classified as treatment dropouts (n=14) or completers (n=20). Videotapes of the first sessions were rated to identify parent and adolescent alliances with the therapist. Results demonstrated that individual parent and adolescent alliances did not predict retention. However, as hypothesized, dropout cases had significantly higher unbalanced alliances (parent minus adolescent) than did completer cases. These findings highlight the importance of alliances in functional family therapy and suggest that how the alliance operates in conjoint family therapy may be a function of systemic rather than of individual processes.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0893-3200 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.17.4.534 ID - ref1 ER -