ABSTRACT
The most widely used criterion of treatment success has been abstinence, but controversy has arisen over the wisdom of using abstinence as a singular outcome criterion. The most frequently used indicators of positive response to treatment include abstinence, consumption level, frequency of drinking, behavior impairment, marital and family functioning and occupational status. In reaction to the reliance on abstinence as a sole success criterion some have advocated multidimensional measurement of treatment outcome. Comparing the efficacy of one treatment modality versus another is handicapped by all the problems inherent in the comparison of treatment with no treatment. Clearly it is essential that researchers assessing the efficacy of alcoholism treatment should be aware of these methodological shortcomings and should modify their therapeutic claims accordingly. Any brief summary of a field as extensive as that of the treatment of alcoholism must of necessity be selective.
