Correlates of Engagement in Family Therapy

Sixty-five families who continued in conjoint family therapy were compared on a variety of antecedent variables to 65 families who dropped out. The following factors were found to be associated with engagement in therapy: (a) age of the identified patient; (b) number of children in the family; (c) the family's prior involvement with community agencies; (d) the presence or absence of antisocial acting-out; and (e) attendance of father at both the initial intake interview and early treatment sessions. Maximal discrimination between continuing and dropout families was demonstrated by simultaneous consideration of several significant variables. The implication of these results for family therapy selection criteria are discussed.