First Advisor

Jack R. Hegrenes

Date of Publication

1974

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

Language

English

Subjects

Personal adjustment and role skills scale

DOI

10.15760/etd.2150

Physical Description

1 online resource (125 pages)

Abstract

This was a two-part study, employing the self and informant, pre and post treatment, forms of the Personal Adjustment and Role Skills Scale, the PARS Scale. In this study seven of the PARS Scale factors were employed: Interpersonal Involvement, Agitation-Depression, Attention-Confusion, Alcohol-Drug, Outside Social, Household Management (females), and Anxiety (males).

This study was conducted at Delaunay Institute for Mental Health, an outpatient community mental health clinic in a low socioeconomic catchment area.

Part One of the study employed a random sample of seventy applicants, male and female, ages sixteen to sixty-four, who applied to Delaunay for treatment services between November of 1972 and July of 1973 and who completed, at least, the self-pretreatment PARS Scale. This sample was administered the self and informant pre PARS Scale at initial interview.

In October of 1973, the number of treatment sessions in the three months following initial interview was secured from billing cards. At this same time, therapists at Delaunay were requested to assess the sample on their progress in therapy at that time or at termination. Four categories were possible: great, moderate, slight, and no progress. They were also requested to identify the certainty with which they made the assessment according to: great, moderate, or slight certainty.

Following this, the self-pretreatment PARS Scale scores were correlated with number of treatment sessions. No relationship appeared for females between number of treatment sessions and self pre PARS Scale scores. For males, a non-significant trend was noted on most factors, indicating that a high self pre PARS score was indicative of fewer treatment sessions. A significant and inverse relationship between the self pre PARS Scale score on Alcohol-Drug and number of treatment sessions occurred for males, indicating that a high score on this factor was suggestive of fewer treatment sessions.

The self-pretreatment PARS Scale scores were correlated with therapist assessment of progress in therapy. No relationship appeared for females. For males, no significant relationship appeared but a non-significant trend was indicated, suggesting that a high self pre PARS Scale score was indicative of a favorable therapist assessment on progress in therapy.

Part Two of the study employed a non-random sample of fifteen females who had provided self and informant, pre and post treatment, PARS Scale scores. Post treatment, informant data was notably deficient in this part of the study and prevented the employment of males in the sample. Descriptive data on income, education, marital status, and presenting problem were provided for this sample.

The sample was administered the self and informant, pretreatment, PARS Scale at initial interview. Three months after initial interview they were administered the self and informant, post treatment, PARS Scale if they remained in treatment for at least three months.

As in Part One of this study, number of treatment sessions for the three months following initial interview were secured from the billing cards. In October of 1973, therapists were requested to provide a therapist behavioral assessment with four possible categories: improved, maintained, regressed (therapeutic), regressed (non-therapeutic). This assessment was to be made from recall and/or records at the time the self and informant, post treatment, PARS Scale was administered. Again, therapists were requested to indicate the degree of certainty involved in their assessment.

The relationship between number of treatment sessions and the available self and informant, pre and post treatment, PARS Scale scores was explored. It was found that the self pre PARS score on Interpersonal Involvement, the self-post PARS score on Alcohol-Drug, and the informant post PARS score on Alcohol-Drug were significantly and inversely related to the number of treatment sessions. High scores on these factors indicated fewer treatment sessions.

The relationship between therapist behavioral assessment and available self and informant, pre and post treatment, PARS Scale scores was explored. Results showed a significant and direct relationship between the self-post PARS score on Outside Social, the informant post PARS score on Alcohol-Drug and therapist behavioral assessment. High scores on these factors indicated a favorable therapist behavioral assessment.

Evaluation of treatment services with the PARS Scale in Part Two of this study found the self, pre and post treatment, PARS Scale scores on Attention-Confusion to be the only PARS scores showing significant differences after three months of treatment. None of the remaining self-PARS scores and none of three informant PARS scores indicated any significant differences.

It was recommended that the predictive capacity of the PARS Scale not be explored further. Further exploration of the use of the PARS Scale for evaluative purposes was suggested due to the limitations of the research design with regard to specificity and sampling. Finally, exploration of specific and individualized treatment evaluation, suggested by recent psychotherapy research, was encouraged.

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Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/13356

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