Parental Expectations of Psychotherapy

Summary This study was undertaken to investigate the interrelationships among social class, demographic variables, duration of therapy, and parent's expectations of psychotherapy. Parents were asked to respond to a questionnaire regarding a therapist's anticipated behavior with their child. Results indicated that while demographic variables were not related to length of stay in treatment, social class variables were. Although none of the attitudes was associated with the duration of treatment, the evidence suggests that parents expect different behaviors in accordance with (a) their own social position and (b) the age, sex, and race of their child. Finally, an attempt was made to integrate the host of factors that interact to shape the process and outcome of psychotherapy.