Insomnia is one of the most debilitating health problems facing huge portions of the population. The only well-tested and reliable treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and sleep medications. Morin et al. (2009) design an experiment testing the various combinations of these two treatments. They effectively randomize their sample into two groups, one receiving CBT and the other receiving CBT and a dose of hypnotics, for a prescribed amount of time. Then each group is again randomized and split into two more groups for 6 months; the CBT group either receives more CBT or the therapy is terminated, and the CBT plus hypnotic group either receives only CBT or they continue their regiment. This method and organization reduces the alpha and provides a clear, logical flow to the experiment.
Utilizing a flowchart, the article itself demonstrates the continuity of the study, which showed the stages that participants left the experiment or how many participants were involved. Such permits even the layman to read and understand how the experiment progressed. However, a weakness within the experiment lies in its generalizability; it included only White participants, most of which had a spouse and were employed. While the researchers are not at fault for keeping only individuals who met the inclusion criteria, the ability to generalize these data to non-White populations is lost. Despite this, the article provides another step to reducing the severity and incidence of insomnia.
Morin, C. M., Vallières, A., Guay, B., Ivers, H., Savard, J., Mérette, C., Bastien, C., & Baillargeon, L. (2009). Cognitive behavioral therapy, singly and combined with medication, for persistent insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 301(19), 2005-2015. doi:10.1001/jama.2009.682
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