Examining the Role of the Therapeutic Alliance in Treatment Efficacy by Mediating Client Engagement

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of the therapeutic alliance in treatment effectiveness through mediation of client engagement. Individuals who had approached counseling centers of welfare organization, oil company, and Tabriz municipality in 2019 were selected as the statistical population. The statistical sample of the present study consists of 324 participants (225 women and 99 men) who were selected through purposive sampling based on entry and exit criteria, after obtaining their consent. The Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR), Client Engagement (CES), Client Satisfaction (CSQ), and Client Outcome (COM) questionnaires were used to collect data, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and Amos24 software. Results showed that therapeutic alliances with client engagement mediation were able to explain changes in treatment effectiveness. In addition, the results of the mediation test showed that client engagement partially mediated the relationship between the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome, but fully mediated the relationship between the therapeutic alliance and client satisfaction. The results of the fit indices indicated that the measured model was in good agreement with the theoretical research model. In conclusion, this study showed that client engagement was a mediating variable in explaining treatment efficacy, so therapists should pay special attention to the role of client engagement in treatment efficacy in addition to selecting appropriate treatment approaches

The Relationship Between Dark and Light Dimensions of Personality with Life Satisfaction Mediated by Value Orientations

Different studies have examined the relationship between dark and light personality dimensions and life satisfaction. Using the structural equation method, this correlational descriptive study aimed to determine the relationship between dark and light dimensions of personality with life satisfaction as mediated by value orientations. To this end, 400 people who referred to health centers in Tabriz, Iran were selected through convenience sampling method. To collect data, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, Dark Triad Personality Questionnaire, Light Triad Personality Questionnaire, and the Value System Questionnaire were used. Then the data were analyzed using the structural equation method. While the dark dimensions had a negative effect on life satisfaction, the light dimensions had a positive effect. There was a negative relationship between dark dimensions and life satisfaction as mediated by value orientations. Meanwhile, there was a positive relationship between light dimensions and life satisfaction as mediated by value orientations. Therefore, the dark and light dimensions of personality and the way of value orientation are related to the level of life satisfaction. Accordingly, researchers can examine the effectiveness of these variables on life satisfaction through developing psychotherapy interventions influencing the variables of dark and light dimensions of personality and value orientation.  Introduction*Various personality variables affect the level of life satisfaction. The dark dimensions, including antisocial, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, have a direct role in people's attitudes towards life (Paulhus ­­­&Williams, 2002). Various studies have shown the negative relationship between dark personality traits and life satisfaction (Marashi et al., 2017; Sharifinia & Harun Rashidi, 2020). The light dimensions, including three dimensions of humanity, faith in humanity, and Kantianism (Kaufman et al., 2019) along with the way of value orientation have a positive relationship with life satisfaction (Sadeghi et al., 2018). While people with light personality traits use developed defense mechanisms (Wood et al., 2010) leading to life satisfaction, people with dark personality traits choose anti-moral values ‌‌in life (Oboyle et al., 2012) which result in dissatisfaction with life. Considering the essential role of personality traits and the type of value orientation in the level of life satisfaction, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between the dark and light dimensions of personality with life satisfaction mediated by value orientation. MethodThis descriptive correlational research used structural equation method. Using the available sampling method, a total of 400 individuals referring to the health centers in Tabriz, Iran were selected. The following four questionnaires were completed by participants.Life Satisfaction Questionnaire: This five-item scale was developed by Diener et al. (1985). A higher score indicates more satisfaction with life. Diener et al. obtained the reliability of this scale with Cronbach's alpha method (0.86). In the present study, Cronbach's alpha obtained for this scale was 0.78. Dark Triads Personality Questionnaire: This 12-item scale was designed by Johnson and Webster (2010) and includes three subscales: Machiavellianism, antisociality, and narcissism. Johnson and Webster reported the test-retest reliability coefficient of this questionnaire as 0.89 for the entire scale. In the present study, Cronbach's alphas obtained for Machiavellian, antisocial, and narcissistic subscales were 0.79, 0.69, and 0.73, respectively. Light Triads Personality Questionnaire: This scale was designed by Kaufman et al. (2019) and consists of three subscales: Kantianism, humanity, and faith in humanity. The internal reliability coefficient for this scale was estimated as 0.84 in the original study (Kaufman et al., 2019). In our study, Cronbach's alphas obtained for the variables of Kantianism, humanity, and faith in humanity were 0.69, 0.72, and 0.68, respectively. The Value System Questionnaire: This scale was developed by Schwartz (2006) and consists of 57 questions and ten scales of the value system. The Cronbach's alphas reported by Schwartz for the subscales of benevolence, traditionalism, conformity, security, power, arousal, hedonism, success, spontaneity, and cosmopolitanism were 0.61, 0.37, 0.48, 0.64, 0.50, 0.69, 0.79, 0.52, 0.53, 0.57, respectively. In the present study, the alpha obtained for each of the subscales was estimated to be more than 0.67. ResultsWhile the dark dimensions had a negative effect on life satisfaction, the light dimensions had a positive effect. There was a significant relationship between the dark and light dimensions with life satisfaction as mediated by value orientations. Table 1 shows the Pearson’s correlation matrix for the studied variables.  Table 1. Pearson’s Correlation Matrix for The Relationships between Research Variables4321Variables   11- Dark dimensions    1-0/61**2- Light dimensions   10/56**-0/58**3- Value orientation10/62**0/69**-0/64**4- Life satisfactionP<.01 According to Table 1, there was a significant negative relationship between the dark dimensions with light dimensions, value orientation, and life satisfaction. There was a significant positive relationship between the light dimensions with value orientations and life satisfaction. Also, there was a significant positive relationship between value orientations and life satisfaction.   .83                                                                                                                                .68                        .58               Figure 1. Structural Model of Dark and Light Dimensions Mediated by Value Orientation on Life Satisfaction To investigate the indirect relationship between the dark and light dimensions with life satisfaction as mediated by value orientations, the bootstrap method was used (Table 2).  Table 2. Bootstrap Results for Indirect Model RelationshipspUpper limitLower limitStandardized estimatorVariables 0/006 -0/027 - 0/200 -0/097The relationship between dark dimensions with life satisfaction mediated by value orientations0/0040/1940/0220/092The relationship between light dimensions with life satisfaction mediated by value orientations       P<0.05 The bootstrapping test results showed that dark dimensions had a negative indirect effect on life satisfaction mediated by value orientations (= -0.097); Also, light personality dimensions had a positive indirect effect on life satisfaction mediated by value orientations (= 0.092).ConclusionThis study investigated the relationship between the dark and light dimensions with life satisfaction through the mediating role of value orientation. According to the results, while the dark dimensions had a negative effect on life satisfaction, the light dimensions had a positive effect on it.  According to psychological theories, life satisfaction is widely influenced by a person's developmental background such as personality traits. Dark personality traits show the tendency to experience more unpleasant emotional states such as anger, sadness, despair, and other negative emotions. These people perceive life stressful and are dissatisfied with their social support, which can explain lower levels of life satisfaction. People with clear personality traits have extensive verbal and communication skills, which facilitates relationships with others, provides them with more social support, and increases life satisfaction.In our study, there was a relationship between the dark and light dimensions of personality with life satisfaction mediated by value orientations. People who have light personality dimensions experience more life satisfaction through choosing positive defense mechanisms, realistic views, and moral value orientations in life. People with dark personality dimensions adopt an anti-moral value orientation, which ultimately causes dissatisfaction with life. Accordingly, psychologists and counselors should pay more attention to the role of personality variables and value orientations in the beginning and continuation of psychological interventions in primary prevention programs and interventional and clinical work.Ethical ConsiderationCompliance with Ethical Guidelines: This research has the code of ethics IR.IAU.TABRIZ.REC.1400089 from the ethics committee of the research vice-chancellor of Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch.Authors’ Contributions: All authors contributed to the study. The first author written the first draft of the manuscript. The second author edited the manuscript. The third author advised result sections. The fourth author written the methods sections.Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest for this study.Funding: This study was conducted with no financial support.Acknowledgment: The authors thank all participants in the study.     *. Corresponding autho