title: Attachment style and treatment completion among psychiatric inpatients with substance use disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A strong dose-response relationship exists for psychosocial treatments for co-morbid substance abuse disorders; yet rates of attrition are exceedingly high for those seeking treatment in residential and hospital settings. This study examined patient characteristics, including attachment style as predictors of completing 42 contiguous days of inpatient dual-diagnosis treatment among patients with substance use disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline characteristics were assessed in 187 consecutively admitted patients with research diagnosis of substance use disorders. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was used to examine predictors of treatment retention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated a two-variable model consisting of total number of co-occurring Axis I and II disorders, and pre-occupied attachment style, accounting for 17% of the variance. Attachment status predicted retention above and beyond psychiatric co-morbid disorders, demonstrating incremental predictive validity. Moderator analyses failed to detect an interaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among inpatients with substance abuse disorders, anxious-preoccupied attachment style predicted treatment retention, reflecting the importance of interpersonal components of treatment relationships in completing treatment. This study adds to a growing body of evidence linking attachment style with treatment adherence. Further research is needed to examine possible mechanisms associated with this relationship.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Menninger Clinic Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77035, USA. cfowler@menninger.edu
authors: James Christopher
authors: JC
authors: Fowler
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Groat
authors: Mike
authors: M
authors: Ulanday
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry) / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*