Using personality traits and attachment styles to predict people's preference of psychotherapeutic orientation

Abstract

Aim This study examined whether people's personality traits and attachment styles would predict their preference for one of three common psychotherapies (psychodynamic, person‐centred and cognitive‐behavioural therapy). Method An online survey was administered to participants (n = 209) for remuneration. Personality traits were measured using the HEXACO‐60; attachment was measured using the Relation‐ships Questionnaire; preference for psychotherapeutic orientation was assessed using the Preferences for Psychotherapy Approaches Scale. Results Regression analyses indicated that various personality traits and attachment styles predict preference of therapeutic orientation. Specifically, the data indicated that openness and secure attachment significantly predicted preference of psychodynamic psychotherapy. No personality traits or attachment styles significantly predicted person‐centred preference. Lastly, previous study of psychology and fearful attachment significantly predicted preference of cognitive‐behavioural psychotherapy. Conclusion This study's findings provide supporting evidence for the claim that people's personality traits and attachment styles are predictive of their preferences for various psychotherapies. Implications for further research are discussed.

Predictors of men's psychotherapy preferences

“…Table presents the third hierarchical regression analysis testing our hypotheses for person‐centred therapy (PCT) preference. Unlike previous research (see Petronzi & Masciale, ), which was unable to find model significance in variance accounted for in person‐centred preference, this study found significance with the first step equation, R = 0.298, R 2 = 0.089, F (4, 310) = 7.526, p < 0.001. Moreover, the second step equation accounted for an additional 11% of the variance in person‐centred preference, R = 0.445, R 2 = 0.198, F (8, 306) = 9.460, p < 0.001, ΔR 2 = 0.110, ΔF (4, 306) = 10.474, p < 0.001.…”

“…The Preferences for Psychotherapy Approaches Scale—Revised (PPAS‐R; Cheng, ; Holler, ; Petronzi & Masciale, ) presents participants with three, one‐page descriptions of psychotherapy written in the second person by a clinician describing their approach to treatment. Each treatment paradigm (psychodynamic, CBT, and person‐centred) was validated by having three to five licensed mental health practitioners rate the accuracy of the scripts.…”

“…Replicating the methodology by Petronzi and Masciale () and Petronzi (), the PPAS‐R and CAEF instruments were combined to create a larger, more robust psychotherapy preference composite score. In this study, the combined 10‐item scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with all Cronbach's alphas above 0.95.…”

“…Specifically, when clients engage in psychotherapy that is more congruent with their treatment preferences, they are more likely to remain in treatment, develop a stronger therapeutic alliance, and consequently, experience more positive psychotherapeutic outcomes (Berg et al., ; Elkin et al., ; Swift & Callahan, ). The majority of research has considered client preferences as they pertain to non‐psychological variables such as race and gender or drug treatment versus psychotherapy (Petronzi & Masciale, ).…”

“…Of these constructs, personality traits have been utilised most extensively because they describe relatively enduring characterological ways of relating with others (Petronzi, ; Wade, Tavris, & Garry, ). Petronzi and Masciale () examined people's personality traits as a predictor of their preferences of three common psychotherapeutic approaches (psychodynamic, cognitive‐behavioural therapy (CBT) and person‐centred therapy). Using a hierarchical regression analysis, their results indicated that people who scored higher on openness and secure attachment tended to prefer psychodynamic psychotherapy, whereas people with previous study of psychology tended to prefer CBT.…”