Therapist self-report of evidence-based practices in usual care for adolescent behavior problems: factor and construct validity

Adm Policy Ment Health. 2014 Jan;41(1):126-39. doi: 10.1007/s10488-012-0442-8.

Abstract

This study introduces a therapist-report measure of evidence-based practices for adolescent conduct and substance use problems. The Inventory of Therapy Techniques-Adolescent Behavior Problems (ITT-ABP) is a post-session measure of 27 techniques representing four approaches: cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), family therapy (FT), motivational interviewing (MI), and drug counseling (DC). A total of 822 protocols were collected from 32 therapists treating 71 adolescents in six usual care sites. Factor analyses identified three clinically coherent scales with strong internal consistency across the full sample: FT (8 items; α = .79), MI/CBT (8 items; α = .87), and DC (9 items, α = .90). The scales discriminated between therapists working in a family-oriented site versus other sites and showed moderate convergent validity with therapist reports of allegiance and skill in each approach. The ITT-ABP holds promise as a cost-efficient quality assurance tool for supporting high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based practices in usual care.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Ambulatory Care
  • Attitude of Health Personnel*
  • Comorbidity
  • Conduct Disorder / psychology
  • Conduct Disorder / rehabilitation*
  • Evidence-Based Practice*
  • Female
  • Guideline Adherence
  • Humans
  • Juvenile Delinquency / psychology
  • Juvenile Delinquency / rehabilitation
  • Male
  • Mental Disorders / psychology
  • Mental Disorders / rehabilitation
  • New England
  • Psychometrics / statistics & numerical data
  • Psychotherapy / methods*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Substance-Related Disorders / psychology
  • Substance-Related Disorders / rehabilitation*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*