Has behavior therapy drifted from its experimental roots? A survey of publication trends in mainstream behavioral journals

In recent years it has been suggested that behavior therapy, characterized in part by single-subject designs and an idiographic approach to addressing practical problems, is drifting from its experimental roots. To examine tr ends in behavior therapy, and to provide an objective index of drift, two a rchival studies were conducted to identify publication trends in the use of single-subject designs vs. group designs, as well as citations to select b asic behavioral science journals. In Study 1, articles appearing in Behavio r Therapy from 1970 through 1996 were reviewed and categorized in terms of type of article, design, and citations to experimental journals, Findings f rom Study 1 suggest declining publication trends in single-subject designs and citations to experimental journals in Behavior Therapy, with a modest i ncrease in the use of group designs over the period. Study 2 was designed t o replicate and extend our initial findings by surveying three behavioral j ournals in addition to Behavior Therapy using the PsychLit database and yea rs covering 1974 through 1996: Behaviour Research and Therapy, Journal of B ehavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, and Behavior Modification. Con sistent with Study 1, results of Study 2 showed declining trends in single subject designs for all mainstream behavioral journals. The significance of these findings in light of the argument that behavior therapy has drifted from its experimental roots is discussed, with emphasis on contingencies th at may be responsible for the trends observed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.