Predicting obesity reduction in behavioral and nonbehavioral therapy from client characteristics: The self-evaluation measure

Abstract

The predictive power of a self-evaluation measure and 10 other client characteristics was contrasted in behavioral and nonbehavioral obesity treatments. The self-evaluation measure (self-evaluation of accuracy of time interval estimates) was positively related to weight reduction in behavioral groups ( r =.53, n =24) and negatively related to weight reduction in nonbehavioral groups ( r =−.61, n =24). Subjects above the mean of the self-evaluation measure lost more weight in behavioral than in nonbehavioral therapy, but subjects below the mean of the self-evaluation measure lost equivalent amounts in both therapies. None of the other measures correlated strongly with the self-evaluation measure. Weight reduction at the end of the 9-week treatments was not related to most other measures, including actual accuracy of time estimates, age of obesity onset, and a variety of self-monitoring and self-management measures obtained before random assignment to treatments. Multiple regression analyses using the two best predictors for each type of therapy suggested that weight reduction at the end of treatment can be predicted moderately well in behavioral ( R =.64) and nonbehavioral ( R =.70) obesity treatment.