Adherence to substance abuse treatment: clinical utility of two MMPI-2 scales

In this study, we examined the ability of the MMPI-2 (Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989) Addiction Acknowledgment scale (AAS; Weed, Butcher, McKenna, & Ben-Porath, 1992) and Negative Treatment Indicators scale (TRT; Butcher, Graham, Williams, & Ben-Porath, 1990) to predict adherence to and outcomes from substance abuse treatment. There was no evidence that the AAS was related to treatment adherence or outcome in our sample. However, results did reveal a significant positive relation between scores on the TRT scale and readmission to the hospital. Further analyses identified an optimal score for use in similar clinical populations and settings, and characteristics of high and low scorers. Compared to low scorers, high TRT scorers were more likely to not return for treatment after an initial screening interview. If they did return for treatment, high TRT scorers were more likely to experience fewer treatment days and to be rated as having lower motivation, poorer participation, and poorer comprehension of program materials. These findings provide promising initial evidence of the utility of the TRT scale for identifying patients who may be at a high risk for unsuccessful substance abuse treatment.