Client Costs and Early Discontinuance from a Community-Based Treatment Program

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CLIENT DISCONTINUANCE, OR THE PREMATURE WITHDRAWAL FROM THERAPEUTIC TREATMENT, ARE ENDOGENOUS & EXOGENOUS. YET SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED UPON THE FORMER TO THE NEAR EXCLUSION OF THE LATTER. EMPLOYING A 'PRETREATMENT' BASELINE CONDITION, THE PRESENT STUDY CONTROLS FOR DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO BENEFITS COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH TREATMENT PROGRESS, THEREBY ALLOWING FOR THE SYSTEMATIC ASSESSMENT OF THOSE VARIABLES EXOGENOUS TO THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP. WHILE IT WAS FOUND THAT SUCH FACTORS AS CLIENT AGE, RACE, & RELIGION BORE NO RELATIONSHIP, STILL OTHER EXOGENOUS VARIABLES, IE, CLIENT TRANSPORTATION COSTS & FAMILY INCOME, DID APPEAR TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCIDENCE OF CLIENT DISCONTINUANCE. THE RELEVANCE OF THESE & OTHER DATA ARE DISCUSSED WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE NEED FOR INCREASED THERAPIST AWARENESS OF THE MULTIFARIOUS DETERMINANTS EXISTING BEYOND THE SPHERE OF DIRECT CLIENT-THERAPIST INTERACTION, & THE SUBSEQUENT REVISION OF SOCIAL WORK TREATMENT PROGRAMS PURSUANT TO AVAILABLE FINDINGS. 1 TABLE. AA.