Attachment characteristics and treatment outcome following inpatient psychotherapy: Results of a multisite study

The authors evaluated 617 patients at hospital admission using an interpersonal interview analyzed with the Adult Attachment Prototype Rating (Strauss, Lobo-Drost, & Pilkonis, 1999) in nine different psychotherapeutic hospitals. Attachment characteristics derived from this method served as predictors of treatment outcome. Outcome was quantified in all sites using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and, in a subsample, the Impairment Score (Schepank, 2003) as an observer rating. All measures were administered at patient admission and discharge. Additionally, patients completed the Bielefeld Questionnaire of Client Expectations (BQCE) at admission to assess self-reported attachment expectations toward the therapist. The study combined patients with a variety of clinical disorders (predominantly depressive and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, eating disorders) and confirmed the expected correlations of attachment characteristics with diagnoses and other c...