Researchers have hypothesized that administrative variables in counseling service delivery may be significant factors in client attrition. The present study was an investigation of the relation between the length of time that clients spent on a waiting list and attrition after intake. Participants were 1,688 clients at a major university's counseling center. Attrition was defined as failure to attend the first interview after intake. Statistical analyses revealed that time spent on the waiting list did not differentiate counseling conlinuers from noncontinuers for either educational/ vocational or emotional/social clients.Research on counseling center attrition rates has revealed that as many as 25% of the university-student help seekers that receive an intake interview fail to return for the first interview (Epperson, 1981). Typically, those studying attrition have concentrated on one of the following three variables: (a) similarities and differences between those students who terminate after intake and those who do not (
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