TREATMENT ADHERENCE OF MALTREATING FAMILIES - A SURVEY OF PROFESSIONALS REGARDING PREVALENCE AND ENHANCEMENT STRATEGIES

Maltreating parents often do not identify themselves as having a probl em and are usually not self-referred for evaluation or treatment. As a result, treatment adherence problems are believed to be common. Unfor tunately, the literature to date about the extent of the problem and w hat to do about it is sparse. The present investigation focuses on two types of treatment adherence by maltreating families. session attenda nce and homework completion. The goals of the study were the following : (a) provide information on the extent of the problem of nonadherence ; (b) examine the relationship between nonadherence and client, treatm ent, and professional factors; and (c) provide information on the use and effectiveness of strategies to facilitate adherence. A survey was sent to 300 mental health and social service agencies nationwide and c ompleted by 105 professionals. The survey requested specific data on t hree randomly selected maltreating parents from each respondent's curr ent caseload. Data were obtained on 303 maltreating parents. Implicati ons of the results for intervention and future research are discussed.