Question

Researchers and clinicians are concerned that the current treatments being offered for alcohol dependence are not resulting in a high enough percentage of successful outcomes. A complicating factor is that many clients experience depression during treatment for alcohol dependence. Mindfulness Therapy has demonstrated efficacy for the treatment of depression. The purpose of the study is to determine the efficacy of adding Mindfulness Therapy to the standard treatment program. Will the addition of Mindfulness Therapy for clients with alcohol dependence improve the efficacy of treatment? The researchers designed a study using a convenience sample of 40 participants who have entered treatment for alcohol dependence. The participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups, the standard treatment program or the standard treatment program plus Mindfulness Therapy. Participants will receive treatment for 16 weeks and then complete the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS). The treatment groups are considered equivalent at the beginning of the study based on random assignment to groups. The null hypothesis states there will be no difference in scores on the ADS between those who receive the standard treatment program and those who receive the standard treatment program plus Mindfulness Therapy. The researcher used a paired or correlated groups t-test to analyze the data.

The output from the analysis is below. The results are t(19) = 1.554, p = .137. (A T-Test was used)

• Are the results statistically significant? Social science research uses a p value of .05 to determine statistical significance.
• Does the researcher reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?
• What are the implications of the results for the study and the counseling field?

Answer 1

Sol:

t=1.554

p=0.137

alpha=0.05

p>0.05

Fail to reject the null hypothesis

Accept Null hypothesis

results are not statistically significant

Fail to reject the null hypothesis as p>0.05

There is no difference in scores on the ADS between those who receive the standard treatment program and those who receive the standard treatment program plus Mindfulness Therapy.

the addition of Mindfulness Therapy for clients with alcohol dependence do not improve the efficacy of treatment