Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Sep;36(5):331-42.
doi: 10.1007/s10488-009-0224-0. Epub 2009 May 12.

Preference in random assignment: implications for the interpretation of randomized trials

Cathaleene Macias  1 , Paul B Gold, William A Hargreaves, Elliot Aronson, Leonard Bickman, Paul J Barreira, Danson R Jones, Charles F Rodican, William H Fisher
Affiliations

Preference in random assignment: implications for the interpretation of randomized trials

Cathaleene Macias et al. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2009 Sep.

Abstract

Random assignment to a preferred experimental condition can increase service engagement and enhance outcomes, while assignment to a less-preferred condition can discourage service receipt and limit outcome attainment. We examined randomized trials for one prominent psychiatric rehabilitation intervention, supported employment, to gauge how often assignment preference might have complicated the interpretation of findings. Condition descriptions, and greater early attrition from services-as-usual comparison conditions, suggest that many study enrollees favored assignment to new rapid-job-placement supported employment, but no study took this possibility into account. Reviews of trials in other service fields are needed to determine whether this design problem is widespread.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Abelson RP. Statistics as principled argument. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 1995.
    1. Adair JG, Lindsay RCL, Carlopio J. Social artifact research and ethical regulation: Their impact on the teaching of experimental methods. Teaching of Psychology. 1983;10:159–162. doi: 10.1207/s15328023top1003_10. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aguinis H. Regression analysis for categorical moderators. New York: Guilford Press; 2004.
    1. Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage; 1991.
    1. Alverson H, Alverson M, Drake RE, Becker DR. Social correlates of competitive employment among people with severe mental illness. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal. 1998;22(1):34–40.

Publication types

MeSH terms