title: Prediction of response to treatment in a randomized clinical trial of marital therapy.
abstract: This study investigated demographic, intrapersonal, and interpersonal predictors of treatment response in a randomized clinical trial of 134 distressed married couples, which examined traditional (N. S. Jacobson & G. Margolin, 1979) and integrative (N. S. Jacobson & A. Christensen, 1996) behavioral couple therapy. Results based on hierarchical linear modeling revealed that interpersonal variables were the strongest predictors, but their effects were largely limited to predicting initial marital dissatisfaction; greater individual mental health was also associated with less distress initially. Couples who were married longer demonstrated stronger treatment gains, and exploratory analyses suggested that sexually dissatisfied couples showed slower initial, but overall more consistent, gains in the integrative versus the traditional approach. Findings are considered in light of the previous literature on predicting response to marital therapy.
authors.affiliation: Travis Research Institute, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology, Pasadena, CA 90095-1563, USA.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Atkins
authors.forename: Sara B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Berns
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Brian D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Doss
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gattis
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D019546:Couples Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008603:Mental Health / Q000145:classification; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011379:Prognosis; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome