Patients' outcome expectancies and their impression of suitability as predictors of treatment outcome.

In treatment studies, the correlation of patients' outcome expectancies and their impression of treatment suitability with treatment outcome shows a contradictory pattern. It seems that a significant correlation can be shown only if outcome is measured with posttherapy scores or with retrospective success ratings but not if outcome is operationalized as any form of pre-post change scores. This study with 499 outpatients (222 with anxiety disorders, 63 with affective disorders, 136 with both anxiety and depression, and 78 with other disorders) examines whether this difference in the correlation pattern can be replicated by simultaneously using three kinds of outcome assessment. Three subscales of the Patients' Therapy Expectation and Evaluation questionnaire (Hope of Improvement, Fear of Change, and Suitability) were correlated with the treatment outcome. Results confirm the hypothesized model. Possible explanations of this pattern of results are discussed.