Les caractéristiques personnelles d’adolescentes placées en centre éducatif qui sont associées à la qualité de l’alliance de travail précoce

Abstract

BackgroundThe working alliance is an important predictor of the outcomes of intervention with adults and adolescents. Establishing the working alliance with adolescents involves some specific challenges. Indeed, the consultation among this population is often initiated by a third party, who is usually a parent or an authority figure. The intervention may even be imposed on the youth if his behaviour involves significant risks to himself or others, as is the case in rehabilitation centres. In addition, it is also important to note that their motivation to change is often low at the beginning of the intervention, which makes the development of the working alliance even more complex. Therefore, it seems relevant to identify factors that may influence the quality of the working alliance, especially when it is a coercive intervention such as in rehabilitation centres. This study aims to examine the links between some personal characteristics and the quality of the early working alliance among adolescent girls placed in rehabilitation centres. The four personal characteristics investigated are: motivation to change, self-efficacy, attitude towards authority figures and behavioural difficulties. MethodsForty-six adolescent girls (12–17 years old) were recruited at the time of their admission to one of the rehabilitation centres located in Montreal. They all completed five self-reported questionnaires: the Working Alliance Inventory Short, the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale, the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children, the Attitudes to Formal Authority Questionnaire, and the Youth Self Report. ResultsThe results indicated that motivation for change (β=.55) and sense of self-efficacy (β=.36) are the variables most closely related to the quality of the perceived working alliance at the beginning of the intervention. Motivation to change and self-efficacy explained 39.5% (p<.01) of the variance of the perceived quality of the working alliance. Attitude towards authority and behavioural problems were not significantly associated with the quality of the working alliance. These findings are consistent with those of other studies conducted with adults or young people in other contexts. ConclusionOur results suggest that motivation to change and self-efficacy are therapeutic targets to consider in order to promote the establishment of a positive working alliance at the beginning of an intervention with adolescent girls placed in rehabilitation centres.