Commentary] RESEARCH ASSESSMENTS: INSTRUMENTS OF BIAS AND BRIEF INTERVENTIONS OF THE FUTURE?

Addiction Volume 104 Issue 8, Pages 1311 - 1312

The possibility that research assessments themselves have the potential to positively influence drinking behaviour has long been recognized. The earliest research data were retrospective accounts of how helpful research assessments were found to be in treatment cohort studies . The first trials investigated this issue among dependent drinkers within treatment settings and found them unimportant Nonetheless, the phenomenon continued to attract attention within the research community, and subsequent non-randomized treatment trials identified assessment effects which appeared substantial and important to further study . Qualitative process studies within large multi-centre treatment trials provided data attesting to the influence of research assessments, indicating that it was an important component of the treatment experience with impact on actual behaviour change . This research interest led to a more recent randomized trial of assessment in the context of treatment which detected smaller effects, providing greater certainty about the nature of the phenomenon and the magnitude of effects that may be expected . . . . . . .

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