Case management relationships and a recovery orientation: A consumer survey of class members in the Arnold case

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative contributions of the working alliance in predicting a recovery orientation. An additional aim was to determine whether a measure of case management fairness contributed any additional proportion of explained variance in a recovery orientation beyond what is accounted for by the working alliance. The study blended structured interview and clinical judgment measures with survey research methods to obtain data about consumer relationships with their case managers, as well as their recovery attitudes. The sample consisted of (N = 167) priority-class members involved in the Arnold v. Arizona Department of Health Services class-action lawsuit in Maricopa County, Arizona. The results showed that the working alliance and case management fairness variables accounted for more of the explained variance in a recovery orientation, than any of the other known correlates of recovery. The results also provided some preliminary support for the inclusion of case management fairness as a predictor variable of a recovery orientation, in that the study's measure of case management fairness contributed a small proportion of additional variance beyond what was explained by the working alliance in predicting a dimension of a recovery orientation. The implications of the study's findings for practice and future research are discussed.