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. 2012;22(4):475-88.
doi: 10.1080/10503307.2012.674790. Epub 2012 Mar 26.

How many treatment sessions and patients are needed to create a stable score of adherence and competence in the treatment of cocaine dependence?

Inga Dennhag  1 , Mary Beth Connolly Gibbons, Jacques P Barber, Robert Gallop, Paul Crits-Christoph
Affiliations

How many treatment sessions and patients are needed to create a stable score of adherence and competence in the treatment of cocaine dependence?

Inga Dennhag et al. Psychother Res. 2012.

Abstract

The study utilized a generalizability theory analysis of adherence and competence ratings to evaluate the number of sessions and patients needed to yield dependable scores at the patient and therapist levels. Independent judges' ratings of supportive expressive therapy (n = 94), cognitive therapy (n = 103), and individual drug counseling (n = 98) were obtained on tapes of sessions from the NIDA Collaborative Cocaine Treatment Study. Generalizability coefficients revealed that, for all three treatments, ratings made on approximately five to 10 sessions per patient are needed to achieve sufficient dependability at the patient level. At the therapist level, four to 14 patients need to be evaluated (depending on the modality), to yield dependable scores. Many studies today use fewer numbers.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Patient-level generalizability coefficients for various numbers of sessions at which the adherence is assessed.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Patient-level generalizability coefficients for various numbers of sessions at which the competence is assessed.
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References

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