Ae. Kazdin et al., FAMILY EXPERIENCE OF BARRIERS TO TREATMENT AND PREMATURE TERMINATION FROM CHILD THERAPY, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 65(3), 1997, pp. 453-463
Barriers to participation in treatment were proposed as a basis for dr
opping out of treatment among children seen in outpatient therapy. Fam
ilies (N = 242) of children referred for treatment for oppositional, a
ggressive, and antisocial behavior participated. The main findings wer
e that (a) barriers to participation in treatment contributed signific
antly to dropping out of therapy; (b) perceived barriers to treatment
were not explained by family, parent, and child characteristics that a
lso predicted dropping out; and (c) among families at high risk for dr
opping our of treatment, the perception of few barriers attenuated ris
k. Parent perceptions of the difficulties of participating in treatmen
t (including stressors and obstacles associated with treatment, percep
tions that treatment is not very relevant, and a poor relationship wit
h the therapist) influenced who dropped out.