The Alliance and Rupture Observation Scale (AROS) : Development and validation of an alliance and rupture measure for repeated observations within psychotherapy sessions

• Objective: The aim of this study was to test a new observer-rated instrument, the Alliance and Rupture Observation Scale (AROS). It was designed for repeated measurements of the alliance within sessions and to detect alliance ruptures.Method: Videotaped therapy sessions with depressed adults were analyzed. Reliability was mainly assessed as inter-rater reliability. Convergent, predictive, and discriminant validity of the AROS was assessed by comparing the instrument with both observer-rated and patient-rated measures.Results: The AROS exhibited excellent inter-rater reliability. Alliance levels measured with the AROS predicted patients’ ratings of the alliance in the same session and were highly correlated with another observer-rated alliance measure. Alliance patterns (rupture; repair; and no-rupture) based on AROS scores were significantly correlated with patients’ ratings of the alliance.Conclusions: Preliminary support for convergent and predictive validity was found. It is yet to be determined whether AROS scores are related to psychotherapy outcomes.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

alliance ruptures and repairs

measurement

observer-based alliance measure

psychotherapy process

test development

therapeutic alliance

therapeutic relationship

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)