The Relationship between Interviewer Characteristics and Physical and Sexual Abuse Disclosures among Substance Users: A Multilevel Analysis

Abstract

Data were collected at assessment for substance abuse treatment from 22 interviewers and 8,276 clients to assess the relationship between interviewer characteristics and disclosure of physical and sexual abuse. Characteristics examined were client and interviewer gender, race/ethnicity, and age. Multilevel regressions that adjusted for the clustering of clients within interviewers were compared to unadjusted logistic regressions to determine the effect of response similarity within clusters. Clustering accounted for only 2–5% of the unexplained variance; however, ignoring the clustering effect generated several misleading results. Adjusted models indicated that clients were more likely to disclose physical abuse to Caucasian interviewers than to African American interviewers and more likely to disclose sexual abuse to female interviewers than to male interviewers. Matching clients and interviewers on gender, race, and age did not increase disclosures of either physical or sexual abuse.