PORTRAYING ALCOHOL TREATMENT OUTCOMES - DIFFERENT YARDSTICKS OF SUCCESS

An important issue in the alcohol held is how to present treatment outcome findings in a way that conveys the nature of the full range of outcomes (i.e., how individuals fared). Results should also be presented so as to be readily understood by practitioners. To illustrate how treatment outcome reports can be enriched by graphic portrayals of outcome findings, previously unpublished results from a study of Guided Self-Change treatment for problem drinkers are first presented in a traditional manner. Then, supplemental graphic methods of data reporting, including the use of frequency distributions and scatter plots, are presented. These portrayals are shown to address issues that receive little attention in reports limited to statistical analyses. It is also shown that reported success rates, ''yardsticks of success,'' are highly dependent on small changes in the criteria used to define success.