title: The relationship of patients' cognitive status and therapists' ratings of psychological distress among psychoactive substance users in long-term residential treatment.
abstract: Patients in a long-term residential substance abuse treatment program (N = 168) were asked to complete the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), a brief inventory that measures psychological distress in nine symptom areas. Using the Symptom Checklist-90 Analogue (SCL-90 Analogue), which allows raters to assess patients along the same dimensions measured by the SCL-90-R, therapists also estimated the degree of psychological distress they observed in their patients. Significantly larger discrepancies were found between therapists' ratings of their patients and patients' ratings of themselves when patients were cognitively impaired (N = 57) than when patients did not display these decrements (N = 111). Furthermore, these patient-therapist assessment differences were negatively related to measures of patients' participation in treatment and length of stay in the program. Clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Alpha Addictions Research, Ithaca, NY, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fals-Stewart
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lucente
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shanahan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016320:Substance Abuse Treatment Centers; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs