Meier Scott T
Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States.
Front Psychol. 2022 Jul 22;13:949326. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.949326. eCollection 2022.
The presence of ceiling effects on measures of working alliance is important because they (a) may moderate the observed size of the alliance-outcome correlation and (b) have implications for how quickly the alliance is formed and when. Despite this, little is known about ceiling effects on alliance measures, particularly about potential causes. This study attempted to replicate findings of ceiling effects using a 7-item version of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) (Horvath and Greenberg, 1989) accessed in an archival database of 616 parolees enrolled in a drug abuse treatment study. Item response patterns on alliance and related measures were examined to explore potential methodological and theoretical factors that could produce ceiling effects. Analyses revealed ceiling effects on alliance measures assessing relationships with counselors and parole officers as well as floor effects (indicating highly positive appraisals) in measures of outcome expectations with counselors and parole officers. No ceiling effects were found with measures of drug use problems or negative affect. Item responses on the alliance and outcome expectations measures evidenced high consistency where many respondents endorsed the same choice on the 5-point response format across all items on the scale. Ceiling effects offer a potential marker of the working alliance at the scale level, while consistent response choice may provide a specific behavioral marker at the item level. Discussion focuses on theoretical implications and directions for future research in psychotherapy.
工作联盟测量中天花板效应的存在很重要，因为它们（a）可能会调节观察到的联盟与结果相关性的大小，并且（b）对联盟形成的速度和时间有影响。尽管如此，人们对联盟测量中的天花板效应知之甚少，尤其是关于潜在原因。本研究试图使用工作联盟量表（WAI）（Horvath和Greenberg，1989）的7项版本来复制天花板效应的研究结果，该量表取自一项针对616名参加药物滥用治疗研究的假释人员的档案数据库。对联盟及相关测量的项目反应模式进行了检查，以探索可能产生天花板效应的潜在方法学和理论因素。分析揭示了在评估与咨询师和假释官关系的联盟测量中存在天花板效应，以及在对咨询师和假释官的结果期望测量中存在地板效应（表明高度积极的评价）。在药物使用问题或负面影响的测量中未发现天花板效应。联盟和结果期望测量的项目反应显示出高度一致性，许多受访者在量表上所有项目的5点反应格式中都选择了相同的答案。天花板效应在量表层面为工作联盟提供了一个潜在标志，而一致的反应选择可能在项目层面提供一个特定的行为标志。讨论集中在心理治疗的理论意义和未来研究方向上。
