Identifies conditions under which equivalence is likely attained with simple random sampling and randomization in psychotherapy efficacy studies of kind examined in recent meta-analyses. Views consequences of nonequivalence as manifestations of Simpson's paradox. Expects misinterpretations of estimates of relative efficacy of treatments. Compares…

Discusses current methods, problems, and results of psychological treatment for alcohol abuse, including alcoholism. Addresses external and internal validity problems specific to issues regarding who is treated for alcohol problems, and treatment and patient factors that predict response to alcoholism treatment. Reviews current data on…

Discusses developments in understanding smoking and smoking cessation, methodological issues, and intervention approaches over past 10 years. Reviews conceptual and empirical developments and trends within delivery contexts (self-help, work site programs, health care settings, community interventions). Identifies avenues of research. Suggest…

Proposed organizational and conceptual scheme consisting of content, source, technology, and time orientation dimensions to impose order on assessment of counseling outcome. Demonstrated scheme's utility through review of and application to outcome studies from two leading counseling journals over past three years. Further illustrates scheme…

Treatment outcome research generally relies on main effects analysis of variance to determine whether treatments are differentially effective. There is reason to consider disaggregating main effects even when conditions of heterogeneity of variance are not violated. Potential statistical significance of disaggregation can be shown to be function…

Demonstrates low probability that nonequivalence will produce erroneous inferences in small samples. Sees probability of erroneous inference in absence of true treatment effect as generally no greater than nominal Type I error rate. Seems unlikely that small samples have biased inferences drawn from past psychotherapy outcome research. Cites other…

Discusses appropriate statistical analysis of clinical data based on ordinal categorical outcome scales. Chi-square analysis is called inappropriate for testing superiority of one therapy over another when outcome is ordinal categorical. Emphasizes estimation of clinically informative effect sizes after statistical significance has been attained…

Examined intensive parole supervision (IPS) as alternative to incarceration. Compared to regular parolee group (n=45), IPS group (n=55) had much higher parole officer and parolee activity in all areas except community counseling; performed about same on all dependent variables except type of parole warrant; and had more nonserious violations.…

Considers relationship between statistically and clinically significant change. Sees Jacobson and Truax's index of clinically significant change as neglecting possible confounding of improvement rate estimates by regression to the mean. Describes alternative method (Edwards-Nunnally method) that incorporates an adjustment that minimizes this…

Reviews methods for analyzing outcome data when some data are missing. Presents approach for comparing outcome results in two-group, randomized design with missing data. Proposed analysis is based on concept of "modeling our ignorance" by examining all possible outcomes, given known number of missing results with binary outcome, and then…

Looks at the role of medication in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents. Reviews some questions that therapists, teachers, and parents should ask about the use of medications in the treatment of depressed children. Presents case example of five-year-old boy to illustrate diagnostic aspects of childhood depression and use of…

The dilemma of relapse exists for a number of addictive behaviors, and mental health authorities agree that keeping addictive behaviors off permanently is much more difficult than treating the behaviors initially. Several relapse prevention models have been posited and environmental, physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and affective factors have…

Discusses the therapeutic benefits of reminiscence group therapy with the elderly. Includes a brief literature review and a description of a reminiscence group. Provides counselors with a feasible technique when working with the elderly. (Author/NB)

Notes that studies examining efficacy of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments of depressive and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are relatively rare; that current clinical practice bases pharmacological treatment decisions on few existing studies, open clinical data on children and adolescents, and extrapolation from adult…

Discusses the counseling use of paradoxical intention, in which clients are told to perform responses that seem incompatible with the goal for which they are seeking help. The use of paradoxical intention in the treatment of panic attacks is described and a case example is included. The nature and implementation of the technique are discussed.…