Alcohol treatment outcome methodology: state of the art 1989-1993

This article reviews the 61 alcohol treatment outcome studies published from 1989-1993 with respect to methodology. Although better assessment of subjects' pretreatment characteristics was noted, a minority of studies met even the basic requirements of experimental studies. Further, some reversals of methodological progress were observed in several areas, particularly in collecting outcome data from multiple sources. It is suggested that funding agencies and journal editors require that submissions meet minimum standards for adequate outcome evaluation.