Evaluation and monitoring instrument: client evaluation of self and treatment

the Centre of Integrated Responses – west Oporto, composed of 114 men (95%) and 6 women (5%), between the ages of 19 and 56 (M = 38), and 90% of Portuguese nationality. All the interviewees could speak and understand Portuguese. The results suggest that the majority of the subscales present regular values of global adjustment and acceptable values of internal consistency, as can be seen in the dimensions Therapeutic process (GFI = .946-1.0, AGFI = .903-1.0, CFI = .967-1.0, RMSEA = .000-.072, a = .684-.888) and Psychological functioning (with the exception of the Self-efficacy subscale) (GFI = .963-.991, AGFI = .926-.961, CFI = .955-1.0, RMSEA = .000-.055, a = .697-.746). Unlike the results reported by Joe et al. (2002)1, some subscales present limitations: the dimension Motivation for treatment (GFI = .974-980, AGFI = .916-.941, CFI = .939-979, RMSEA = .028-.083, a = .329-.655); and, in terms of internal consistency, the subscales Self-efficacy ( a = .542), Risky behaviour (a = .665) and Social conscience (a = .406). The small size of the sample and its specificity (75% in a programme of opioid replacement therapy with methadone) may have contributed to the reported results. As so, given the inadequacy of some items of the dimension Motivation for the treatment, we have suggested the elimination of this dimension in future applications of the TCU-CEST – Portuguese version2. The results of this study also underscore the need to revising the subscales Self-efficacy, Risky behaviour and Social conscience, as to achieve a closer cultural adaptation to the Portuguese context. Finally, further research should be undertaken in order to assess the validity of the instrument TCU-CEST, by examining its adequacy with samples of users dependent on other drugs and users in different treatment programmes.