Alcohol treatment research assessment exposure subject reactivity effects: part II. Treatment engagement and...

This is the second of two articles in this issue on participant reactivity to alcohol treatment research assessment protocols. In the first article, Clifford et al. presented experimental evidence that the combination of less frequent and less comprehensive assessment results in the least assessment reactivity, as measured by alcohol use and related consequences at 1 year after admission for adult outpatient treatment for alcohol problems. In addition, Part I revealed that the presence of either frequent or comprehensive research assessment tends to result in a greater degree of reactivity. This article extends the analyses by Clifford et al. to treatment for substance use-disorders engagement and involvement across a 1-year follow-up.

The design, participants, and procedures were identical to those described in Clifford et al. Treatment data were obtained from hospital records and participants' self-reports as part of the Timeline Followback interview.

Analyses revealed several effects of frequency of assessment and comprehensiveness of assessment on treatment engagement or involvement. The reactivity effect observed varied with the dependent variable, which included if a participant presented for outpatient treatment (more likely in the comprehensive groups), the number of days of outpatient substance use-disorders treatment during follow-up (no reactivity effects), if a participant engaged in intensive treatment for substance-use disorders during follow-up (more likely for the frequent groups in Months 1-6, but the reverse in Months 7-12, and overall more likely in the brief conditions), and the number of days of intensive treatment for substance-use disorders during follow-up (more days in the frequent groups in Months 1-6, no frequency differences in Months 7-12, and overall more days in the brief groups), respectively. Additional analyses showed that treatment participation did not mediate the reactivity effects on alcohol use and related consequences reported by Clifford et al.

Data provide experimental evidence for a causal relationship between frequency of assessment and comprehensiveness of assessment on substance abuse-treatment engagement and involvement. Future research should be directed at understanding the factors in the assessment process that determine reactivity effects.