title: Differences between early and late drop-outs from treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: To examine characteristics of drop-outs from treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), we studied 121 participants who underwent exposure or cognitive treatment, either alone or with fluvoxamine. OCD symptoms were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at every session. No differences in attrition were found between treatment conditions. Drop-outs from treatment (n=31) were divided into early (before session 6) and late (session 6 or after) drop-outs. We found that early drop-outs had more severe OCD symptoms at termination compared to completers, whereas late drop-outs did not differ from treatment completers. Higher levels of depressive symptoms were associated with early drop-outs, and lower levels with completers. These findings suggest that individuals with high levels of pretreatment depression are at risk for early drop-out with elevated OCD symptoms. Conversly, late drop-outs may be treatment responders who drop out after experiencing substantial improvement. Implications for allocation of resources for attrition prevention are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Boston University, 648 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA. iaderka@bu.edu
authors.forename: Idan M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Aderka
authors.forename: Gideon E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Anholt
authors.forename: Anton J L M
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van Balkom
authors.forename: Johannes H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Smit
authors.forename: Haggai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hermesh
authors.forename: Stefan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Oppen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D016666:Fluvoxamine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D016666:Fluvoxamine