AA Attendance Research Articles

A comparative outcome study of frequent, moderate, occasional, and nonattenders of alcoholics anonymous

The purpose of this project was to identify the outcomes associated with frequent, moderate, occasional, and nonparticipation in Alcoholics Anonymous by male alcohol dependents during the first month after treatment. Informants reported nonparticipants consumed far more alcohol during a 48 week followup than moderate or occasional participants. Moderate and occasional participants were rated as abstinent more often than nonparticipants. Nonparticipants were also reported jailed more often than participants. All other consumption and quality of life comparisons between the groups were nonsignificant. Occasional and moderate AA attendance appear to be associated with better outcomes than nonattendance, but frequent participation was not associated with additional improvement. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A comparative outcome study of frequent, moderate, occasional, and nonattenders of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The purpose of this project was to identify the outcomes associated with frequent, moderate, occasional, and nonparticipation in Alcoholics Anonymous by male alcohol dependents during the first month after treatment. Informants reported nonparticipants consumed far more alcohol during a 48 week followup than moderate or occasional participants. Moderate and occasional participants were rated as abstinent more often than nonparticipants. Nonparticipants were also reported jailed more often than participants. All other consumption and quality of life comparisons between the groups were nonsignificant. Occasional and moderate AA attendance appear to be associated with better outcomes than nonattendance, but frequent participation was not associated with additional improvement.

Pathways to self-help among women for sobriety.

Women for Sobriety represents a self-help option oriented toward positive thinking and behavior modification. Formed in 1975, there are now approximately 125 active WFS groups holding weekly meetings in the United States and Canada. Using data collected from a 1991 membership survey (n = 600, response rate = 73%), this paper chronicles WFS members' pathways to recovery. We describe turning points in seeking help, things women tried at first to contain their drinking, exposure to other treatment approaches, and referrals to WFS from formal treatment programs. Only 15% of the respondents sought treatment because they had been confronted about their drinking, while physical symptoms or emotional problems represented the turning point for over half the women. Another fifth said their life had gotten out of control, and these were the ones to achieve sobriety most quickly. Almost all WFS members had sought professional help for their drinking, and three-fourths have undergone individual therapy-suggesting that WFS members are fairly open to a psychological approach such as WFS offers. WFS philosophy is based on the belief that behavior is predicated on thoughts, so the program teaches members that maintaining sobriety must involve the realization that negative emotions are destructive-and that members can control how much they allow problems to bother them. Goals of membership include abstinence, improved self-esteem, and spiritual and emotional growth. About a third of the respondents currently attend AA, and no differences in length of sobriety associated with current AA attendance were found within the WFS membership. However, women who sought professional help in response to the turning point experience but who also attended AA that year were most likely to have achieved sobriety within a year of the turning point.

Mandated AA attendance for recidivist drinking drivers: ideology, organization, and California criminal justice practices.

This paper examines 2877 municipal court drunk driving cases sampled from 1982 to 1989 in four California sites. Recidivist drinking drivers were those charged with driving under the influence and having two or more drunk driving convictions on their records. In two sites, virtually no AA referrals were made. In the others, in addition to jail terms and fines, judges ordered attendance at meetings of AA for 37-41% of cases. Referral to AA was unrelated to blood alcohol level or number of prior drinking driving convictions. In one AA-referring site, the data indicate that over 75% of drinking drivers convicted in the 1988-89 period were referred to AA by a judge or county probation or parole officer. These findings suggest that, as a whole, California sentencing policies lack a coherent framework. Instead of reflecting information on program effectiveness and offenders' needs, variation in sentencing appears to mark differences in local fiscal circumstances, levels of jail crowding and ideological orientations of judges and other officials. It is suggested that referral practices could have an adverse impact on both individuals' alcohol problems and on recovery programs.

DUI Arrestees versus Other Outpatients in Chemical Dependency Treatment: Initial Status and One-Year Outcome

This study compared 538 male outpatients who were court-referred into chemical dependency treatment and had a Driving-Under-the-Influence (DUI) offense to 790 nonoffender male outpatients. DUI arrestees tended to be younger, more likely to complete treatment, have greater legal involvement, and have a more episodic and social chemical use pattern. DUI offenders were similar to other outpatients in demonstrating significant symptoms of dependency. One-year follow-up results on 199 DUI and 368 non-DUI offenders who had successfully completed treatment and been contacted revealed that the two groups were comparable in areas of reported abstinence, legal involvement, vocational functioning, and medical care utilization; AA attendance was significantly higher among DUI arrestees. The results indicate that outpatient substance abuse treatment can be an appropriate intervention for at least a portion of the DUI offender population, and may be a viable and vital component in an integrated policy on drunken driving.

The Efficacy of AA Attendance for Aftercare of Inpatient Alcoholics: Some Follow-up Data

Inpatient alcoholics (N = 145) were followed at 6-month intervals for 18 months postdischarge. The drinking outcomes were compared based on overall degree of AA attendance. Results did indicate higher percentages of abstinence for AA attenders, but only at 18 months. AA attenders also indicated fewer days drinking during the first 6 months, with fewer days drunk for AA attenders at 18 months. Those subjects attending AA for the entire 18 months reported a total abstinence rate of 50%.

Patterns of Drinking and AA Attendance Following Alcohol Rehabilitation

Patterns of Drinking and AA Attendance Following Alcohol Rehabilitation