Three Experts Join Journal of Addiction Medicine Editorial Team

Journal of Addiction Medicine, ASAM’s official journal, recently welcomed the addition of three new statistical editors: Debbie Cheng, ScD, Charles Maynard, PhD, MSW, and Katie Witkiewitz, PhD. Together, they will serve the important role of ensuring the high quality of research appearing in the society’s peer-reviewed journal. ASAM Magazine posed two questions to the new editors: what do you hope to achieve through the statistical editor position? And what do you think are the most interesting areas of addiction research?

What do you hope to achieve through the statistical editor position?

Cheng: I hope to ensure sound statistical methods are used in the data analyses and that these methods are clearly described to readers. In addition to the methodology, I will also focus on the appropriate reporting and interpretation of results to make sure study conclusions are supported by the data.

Maynard: Statistical methods are important for helping investigators make sense of their data. They are tools and not ends in themselves. The quality of research is enhanced when researchers carefully describe the statistical methods they used to analyze their data. This makes it possible for reviewers to assess whether statistical methods have been used appropriately. Sometimes reviewers will not agree on what is appropriate use of statistical methods. This is why having a complete and clearly written statistical methods section is important.

Witkiewitz: Addiction research is complicated and time consuming. Most investigators may not have time to stay up-to-date with the latest statistical literature, while also staying current with addiction research findings. My goal as a Statistical Editor is to provide assistance to investigators in using the most up-to-date methods in analyzing their data, such that the field will evolve alongside the developments in quantitative methodology and applied statistical techniques. There are many newer statistical methods that are not commonly used in addiction research, but their application to addiction research could improve confidence in the findings and may also increase power to detect the smaller effects that are often observed in addiction medicine.

What do you think are the most interesting areas of addiction research?

Cheng: I’m particularly interested in the intersection between addiction and HIV research. Many of the studies I collaborate on examine alcohol and substance use issues among HIV-infected patients. Our work has included international studies in Russia, India, and Uganda. I’ve enjoyed learning about and addressing the various challenges of designing and implementing studies of addiction in different international settings.

Maynard: In a 2015 article , Kelly, Wakeman, and Saitz cogently argue that how we talk about alcohol and drug disorders has much to do with whether individuals seek help for these conditions. Using terms such as ‘abuse,’ ‘addict,’ ‘dirty,’ and ‘clean’ increase stigma which is a barrier to seeking care. An interesting and important area of research is to assess how stigma discourages access to treatment. More importantly, might there be interventions that would reduce “dirty” talk and possibly increase access. This is critical given that substance use disorders are the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

Witkiewitz: The addiction research field has started to question the value of the traditional randomized clinical trial to test main effects of static treatments (e.g., the horse race scenario) and has started to consider the importance of personalized medicine, adaptive interventions, and mechanisms of behavior change. These newer approaches to studying addiction medicine will hopefully lead to more effective interventions, a better understanding of why certain interventions are effective and greater knowledge of the specific interventions that may work best for specific individuals. I am very hopeful these new developments in addiction research will greatly improve the access to and effectiveness of interventions.