Do supervisors and independent judges agree on evaluations of therapist adherence and competence in the treatment of cocaine dependence?
The current study examined the agreement between supervisors' and independent judges' evaluations of therapist adherence and competence in three treatments of cocaine dependence: supportive expressive therapy (SE), cognitive therapy CT), and individual drug counseling (IDC). We used data from The National Institute on Drug Abuse Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study (n = 295). Trained and experienced supervisors and independent judges rated treatment fidelity. At the therapist level of analysis, the agreement between supervisors' and independent judges' ratings was weak for SE competence, CT adherence, and CT competence. Moderate relations were found for IDC adherence and competence. Supervisors consistently rated adherence and competence more positively than judges in CT and IDC. The potential bias in supervisors' ratings is discussed.
Department of Psychology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden. Inga.Dennhag@psy.umu.se
Inga
I
Dennhag
Mary Beth Connolly
MB
Gibbons
Jacques P
JP
Barber
Robert
R
Gallop
Paul
P
Crits-Christoph
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic