An analysis of variables related to client dropout from psychotherapy in a community mental health setting

The records of 191 clients who received outpatient therapy at a community mental health center were analyzed to investigate the relationship between selected client and organizational variables and dropout. This study also examined the relationship between these same variables and point of dropout.A multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between all variables and dropout. This logit analysis revealed that three variables significantly influenced log odds for the prediction of dropping out when other variables were held constant: Educational Level by a factor of.0827 (p $<$.02), Therapist Continuity by a factor of 3.36 (p $<$.03), and Age by a factor of.9670 (p $<$.03).An exploratory, univariate analysis revealed six variables significantly related to dropout at or below the.05 level of confidence. Three variables were Client variables: Educational Level (p $<$.02), Family Income (p $<$.05), and Age (p $<$.05), and three variables were Organizational variables: Last Date of Service (p $<$.02), Therapist Continuity (p $<$.03), and Date of Closure (p $<$.05). Therefore, of these six variables, Educational Level, Therapist Continuity, and Age are capable of predicting dropout when other variables are controlled. Family Income, Last Date of Service, and Date of Closure, while significantly related to dropout in isolation, lack predictive power and may be concomitantly related to the predictive variables.Results for a secondary purpose indicated that three variables were significantly related to Point of Dropout at or below the.05 level. Two of the variables were Client variables: Age (p $<$.006), and Method of Payment (p $<$.02), and the other significant variable was an Organizational variable: Practicum Students (p $<$.03).Major findings from the study were as follows: (1) Younger, less educated clients are predictably more likely to drop out of therapy. (2) Clients receiving therapy services from only one therapist are predictably more likely to drop out. Implications for research and practice are provided.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio