A Pilot Test of the Functional Family Therapy Coding and Rating Scale

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目的目的是进行功能性家庭治疗编码和评级量表（FFT汽车）的试点研究。FFT汽车是一种理论驱动的观察性研究工具，用于对FFT会话中基于手动的治疗师干预和技术的存在进行评级和编码。作为一种基于理论和手册的过程研究工具，FFT汽车将促进对与FFT中持续治疗结果相关的临床成分、过程和机制的基本假设的直接实证检验。到目前为止，还没有这样的观测仪器存在，可以实现这些关键的FFT过程的研究目标。这种研究是迫切需要的，以提供经验支持正在进行的改进和手动化的FFT和运输到以社区为基础的治疗设置在美国和国外。拟议试点研究的具体目标是：（a）培训两名新手研究生临床医生使用FFT汽车对记录的FFT会话样本进行编码和评级;（B）通过一系列分析方法建立并证明FFT汽车的令人满意的评分者间一致性和可靠性;以及（c）通过使用从该工具导出的一系列临床指标来评估FFT汽车的有效性，以预测治疗师-家庭联盟的形成，以及治疗前后家庭沟通和青少年治疗结果的变化。实现这些目标将建立FFT汽车作为一个可信的和真正的过程研究工具。随后，FFT汽车可用于对在过去十年中大量随机临床试验过程中积累的大量存档FFT临床录像带进行评级和编码。大量的评估数据存在有关青少年药物使用的变化和其他方面的情绪，行为和家庭功能的青少年参与这些临床试验。使用FFT汽车来研究治疗期间的治疗师行为如何与FFT的持续改善、非改善或复发相关联，将提供有价值的临床见解，以告知FFT的改进，从而可以提高其有效性和可移植性。最后，将有效的治疗方法引入社区临床环境对于将青少年药物滥用的流行率降低到足以产生公共健康惠益的程度是必不可少的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of this project is to conduct a pilot study of the Functional Family Therapy Coding and Rating Scale (FFT CARS). The FFT CARS is a theory-driven observational research tool for rating and coding the presence of manual-based therapist interventions and techniques in sessions of FFT. As a theory- and manual-based process research tool, the FFT CARS will facilitate direct empirical tests of fundamental hypotheses about clinical components, processes, and mechanisms associated with sustained treatment outcomes in FFT. To date, no such observational instrument exists that could accomplish these critical FFT process research objectives. Such research is urgently needed to provide empirical support for the ongoing refinement and manualization of FFT and its transportation to community-based treatment settings across the United States and abroad. The specific aims of the proposed pilot study are to: (a) train two novice graduate student clinicians to utilize the FFT CARS to code and rate a sample of recorded FFT sessions; (b) establish and demonstrate satisfactory interrater agreement and reliability for the FFT CARS through a range of analytic approaches; and (c) assess the validity of the FFT CARS by using a range of clinical indicators derived from the instrument to predict therapist-family alliance formation, and pre- to post-treatment changes in family communication and adolescent treatment outcomes. Achieving these aims would establish the FFT CARS as a credible and bona fide process research instrument. Subsequently, the FFT CARS may be used to rate and code the massive volume of archived FFT clinical videotapes that has accumulated over the course of numerous randomized clinical trials over the past decade. A wealth of assessment data exists pertaining to change in adolescent drug use and other aspects of emotional, behavioral, and family functioning for the adolescent participants in these clinical trials. Using the FFT CARS to study how therapist behavior during treatment is linked to sustained improvement, non- improvement, or relapse in FFT would provide valuable clinical insights to inform the refinement of FFT in ways that can enhance its effectiveness and transportability. Ultimately, transporting effective treatments into community-based clinical settings is indispensable for reducing the prevalence of adolescent drug abuse to a degree sufficient to produce public health benefits.