Individuals who received similar support from non-AA members, however, had
nearly the same chance of being abstinent as if they had received no support
at all, according to Lee Ann Kaskutas, P.D., of the Alcohol Research Group
in Berkeley, Calif., and colleagues.
“This suggests that AA members offer types of social support that differ
from those typically offered by nonmembers,” Kaskutas says.
The study by Kaskutas and colleagues examined the relationship between AA
involvement, social support and alcohol use in 722 adults a year after their
first treatment for alcohol or drug abuse.
Although AA involvement did help
many of these individuals cut down on their drinking, the program’s
influence was reduced by a third when the individuals also had relationships
with people who were heavy or problem drinkers or
who encouraged drinking, say the researchers.
The study was published as part of a special collection of research on the
ways AA involvement may influence behavior in the March 2003 issue of Alcoholism:
Clinical and Experimental Research.
“We still have a poor understanding of what AA-exposed individuals actually
do and how prescribed AA-related practices may mobilize and sustain behavior
change,” says J. Scott Tonigan, Ph.D., of the University of New Mexico.
Among the other findings reported in the issue:
* There is no direct connection
between the increased “spiritual awakening” reported
by some AA participants and abstinence, but spiritual changes may lead to
behavior changes that promote abstinence, according to a study by Tonigan.
“
In essence, spiritual beliefs may promote a code for living that is concordant
with abstinence and discordant with alcohol,” he says.
Many of the patients in his study who participated in therapy programs other
than AA still attended AA meetings and read AA literature up to three years
after their initial treatment for alcohol abuse.
“Clearly, clients voted with their feet regarding the desirability of
AA three years after treatment,” Tonigan says.
* A study of 112 AA members found
that all aspects of AA, including meetings, meditation and prayer and sponsorship,
were related to the likelihood of
abstinence a year after treatment for alcohol abuse. The study suggests that
AA may influence
lifestyle changes, such as avoiding places where drinking is common, that
lead to abstinence. But AA’s influence on how individuals respond to
life events like divorce or a family death is not related to the likelihood
of abstinence,
say Patricia L. Owen, Ph.D., of the Butler Center for Research at the Hazelden
Foundation and colleagues.
