AUTHOR=Proença Cecília R. , Markowitz John C. , Prado Euthymia A. , Braga Rosaly , Coimbra Bruno M. , Mello Thays F. , Maciel Mariana R. , Pupo Mariana , Póvoa Juliana , Mello Andrea F. , Mello Marcelo F. 

TITLE=Attrition in Interpersonal Psychotherapy Among Women With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Following Sexual Assault

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02120

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02120

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Abstract: An estimated 16.9% of adult Brazilian women experience sexual assault in their lifetime. Almost half of women who suffer such trauma develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Markowitz et al. (2015) found that an affect-focused non-exposure therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), adapted to treat PTSD (IPT-PTSD) had similar efficacy to and lower dropout rates than Prolonged Exposure (PE), the “gold standard,” most studied exposure therapy for PTSD. 
Objective: To assess attrition rates in IPT of sexually assaulted women recently diagnosed with PTSD.  Method: The current study derives from a two-arm, randomized controlled clinical trial of sexually assaulted women with PTSD who received 14 weeks of standardized treatment with either IPT-PTSD or sertraline.  Sample: The thirty-two patients in the IPT treatment arm were analyzed. Result:  Overall attrition was 29%. One patient was withdrawn because of suicidal risk; four dropped out pre-treatment, and five dropped out during IPT-PTSD. If the excluded patient is considered a dropout, the rate increases to 31%.   Discussion: This is the first formal study of IPT for PTSD specifically due to sexual assault. IPT attrition approximated dropout rates in PE studies, which are often around 30%, and to the sertraline group in our study (34.5%). Further research should compare IPT and PE among sexually assaulted women to clarify our hypothesis that IPT could be an attractive alternative approach for this patient group.