The expanding scope of alcoholism treatment evaluation.

Abstract

research and behavioral medicine, the scope of research on alcoholism treatment has broadened in recent years. Researchers are beginning to examine the degree of implementation of alcoholism treatments, treatment processes (i.e., the relationships between various aspects of treatment and treatment outcome), and the role of life context or extratreatment factors (such as stressful life events) in the recovery-relapse process. Examples of these trends from alcoholism treatment evaluations are presented within the context of an integrative, process-oriented evaluation framework. Implications of these developments for research and practice are discussed with respect to matching patients with treatments and the instrumental and conceptual value of the results of alcoholism treatment evaluations.

The development of a ‘best practice’ service for women in a medium‐secure psychiatric setting: treatment components and evaluation

“…Treatment integrity can be established by explicitly specifying a protocol of treatment implementation, providing a careful training of therapists, and monitoring therapists' adherence to prescribed procedures and their competence in intervention delivery (e.g., Moos & Finney, 1983). Given that the current overview is not comparing treatment methods, we will concentrate on adherence, therapist competence and the measurement aspects of integrity.…”

Driving While Intoxicated Among Individuals Initially Untreated for Alcohol Use Disorders: One- and Sixteen-Year Follow-Ups

“…To examine the behavior of DWI, this study used the conceptual framework developed by Moos and colleagues (Moos and Finney, 1983;Moos et al, 1990b) and adopted by other investigators (e.g., Buri et al, 2007) to examine the context of alcohol-related outcomes (Figure 1). The framework suggests that there is an association between (a) the individual's functioning and life context (e.g., severity of alcohol misuse, psychological symptoms, negative life events, social support) and (b) the frequency of DWI at baseline.…”

“…However, compared with individuals reporting previous treatment for alcohol use disorders, these individuals likely have less severe alcohol-related dysfunction but also less motivation to change and commitment to abstinence (LoCastro et al, 2008). Thus, in the context of previous studies of DWI, we examined a sample that, by virtue of seeking help for the fi rst time, was unique in terms of severity of alcoholrelated disorder and motivation to change.To examine the behavior of DWI, this study used the conceptual framework developed by Moos and colleagues (Moos and Finney, 1983;Moos et al, 1990b) and adopted by other investigators (e.g., Buri et al, 2007) to examine the context of alcohol-related outcomes (Figure 1). The framework suggests that there is an association between (a) the individual's functioning and life context (e.g., severity of alcohol misuse, psychological symptoms, negative life events, social support) and (b) the frequency of DWI at baseline.…”

Advancing the analysis of treatment process

“…The idea that treatment intervention design should be based in theory, and that therefore treatment research projects should not only assess outcomes but also test the underlying theory, has become widely accepted [4,5]. As a result, many treatment trials now include methods for testing the 'causal chain' proposed to underlie the effect of the treatment.…”