Online Sobriety Communities for Women's Problematic Alcohol Use: A Mini Review of Existing Qualitative and Quantitative Research.

Claire Davey

doi:10.3389/fgwh.2021.773921

Abstract

The increase in women's drinking is one of the most prominent trends in alcohol consumption in the UK in recent history, possibly exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdown measures. Higher rates of drinking are associated with substantial economic, health, and social costs. However, women are less likely to seek treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) than men and have less successful treatment outcomes from traditional treatment paths, such as 12-step programs and in-patient care. Female heavy drinkers may also experience particular forms of gendered stigma that affect their experiences of addiction and recovery and their desire or ability to access these more “traditional” services. This review provides an overview of existing qualitative and quantitative research regarding online sobriety communities that are predominantly utilised by women, such as non-12-step alcohol online support groups (AOSGs) and temporary abstinence initiatives (TAIs). This is a small—but expanding—body of literature emerging as “sober curiosity” and “mindful drinking” are trending in Western contexts such as the UK, particularly amongst young women who do not identify with traditional, binary recovery language such as “alcoholic” and “addict.” This review highlights the gaps in research and concludes that further research regarding these new treatment pathways, and women's experiences when utilising them, must be conducted to provide more evidence-based options for women who want to address problematic drinking. Public health bodies could also learn more effective strategies from these innovative solutions to reduce alcohol consumption generally.

Highlights

Despite the substantial economic, health, and social burden of alcohol on the UK economy [1], the affordability and availability of alcohol in England and Wales has significantly increased during the post-war years [2, 3]
Existing research suggests that participants within non-12-step alcohol online support groups (AOSGs) and temporary abstinence initiatives (TAIs) are disproportionately female compared to the demographics of those presenting for publicly-funded treatment
A range of findings across non-12step AOSG interventions show that the majority of participants reduced their alcohol consumption as a result of engaging with these initiatives [15, 39, 47], or were more likely to continue with treatment [58]

Summary

Introduction

Health, and social burden of alcohol on the UK economy [1], the affordability and availability of alcohol in England and Wales has significantly increased during the post-war years [2, 3]. The last 10 years have seen international growth in the number and utilisation of webbased non-12-step alcohol online support groups (AOSGs) such as Soberistas, and later, social media-based sobriety communities such as Club Soda UK, Soberful, LoveSober and Sober Girl Society (to name but a few). This article provides a focused literature review of existing qualitative and quantitative research regarding the online sobriety communities (non-12-step AOSGs and TAIs) outlined, pertaining to the demographics of their participants, why and how participants use them, and their efficacy in changing drinking behaviours.

Results

Conclusion