Soft handoffs in an IS-95 CDMA system or other wireless communication system are controlled using an enhanced set of soft handoff parameters which allow the system to adapt more readily to changing radio frequency (RF) conditions. In an illustrative embodiment, values for particular ones of the soft handoff parameters are selected in accordance with a set of rules, including rules such as, e.g., select the minimum value of add threshold among the members of an active set of pilots for a given mobile station; select the maximum value of drop threshold among the members of the active set; select the minimum value of drop threshold timer among the members of the active set; and select the minimum value of comparison threshold among the members of the active set. A quality measure is then determined for each of the members of the active set, based on one or more of the selected soft handoff parameter values and values of one or more additional parameters, e.g., add intercept, drop intercept and slope parameters, associated with those members. Particular values of the additional parameters are then selected based on the quality measures. The selected parameter values are then utilized in a soft handoff process, e.g., in a soft handoff process in which the given mobile station is directed to handoff from a primary base station to another base station of the system.