Alcoholics Anonymous

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AA meeting sign

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who share a desire to stop drinking alcohol.[1] AA suggests members completely abstain from alcohol, regularly attend meetings with other members, and follow its program to help each other with their common purpose; to help members "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety."[2][3] AA created the twelve-step program used by similar recovery groups like Al-Anon, an auxiliary group for friends and family members of alcoholics; and Narcotics Anonymous, a group for substance abusers who do not identify as alcoholics. Although AA's attrition rates are high,[4] it can be effective as a treatment for alcoholism.[5]

Contents

[edit] History

See main article: History of Alcoholics Anonymous

By 1934 alcoholic Bill Wilson had ruined a promising Wall Street career because of his constant drunkenness. He was introduced to the idea of a spiritual cure by an old drinking buddy Ebby Thacher who had become a member of a "first century Christian movement" called the Oxford Group. Wilson was treated at Charles B. Towns hospital by Dr. William Silkworth, who promoted a disease concept of alcoholism. While in the hospital, Wilson underwent what he believed to be a spiritual experience and, convinced of the existence of God, he was able to stop drinking.

On a 1935 business trip to Akron, Ohio, Wilson felt the urge to drink again and in an effort to stay sober, he sought another alcoholic to help. Wilson was introduced to Dr. Bob Smith. Wilson and Smith co-founded AA with a word of mouth program to help alcoholics. Smith's last drink on June 10, 1935 is considered by members to be the founding date of AA.[6] By 1937, Wilson and Smith determined that they had helped 40 alcoholics get sober, and two years later, with the about 100 members, Wilson expanded the program by writing a book entitled Alcoholics Anonymous which the organization then adopted as its name. The book, informally referred to by members as "The Big Book," described a twelve-step program involving admission of powerlessness over alcohol, moral inventory, complete and direct restitution to those harmed, and asking for direction, guidance, and power from God. In 1941, book sales and membership increased after radio interviews and favorable articles in national magazines, particularly by Jack Alexander in The Saturday Evening Post.

By 1946, as membership grew, confusion and disputes within groups over practices, finances, and publicity led Wilson to write the guidelines for noncoercive group management , Twelve Points to Assure our Future, that eventually became known as the Twelve Traditions. AA came of age at the 1955 St. Louis convention when Wilson turned over the stewardship of AA to the General Service Conference.[7] In this era, AA also began its international expansion, and by 2001 the number of members worldwide was estimated at two million.

[edit] Organization

Main article: Twelve Traditions
A regional service center for Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 2006, 1,867,212 members in 106,202 AA groups were reported worldwide.[8] The Twelve Traditions informally guide how AA groups function, and the Twelve Concepts for World Service guide how AA is structured globally.[9]

A member who accepts a service position or an organizing role is a "trusted servant" with terms rotating and limited, typically lasting three months to two years and determined by group vote. Each group is a self-governing entity with AA World Services acting only in an advisory capacity. AA is served entirely by alcoholics, except for seven "nonalcoholic friends of the fellowship" out of twenty-one members of the AA Board of Trustees.[8]

AA groups are self-supporting and not charities, and they have no dues or membership fees. Groups rely on member donations, typically $1 collected per meeting in America, to pay for expenses like room rental, refreshments, and literature. No one is turned away for lack of funds.[8] Beyond the group level, AA may hire outside professionals for services that either require specialized expertise and/or are full time responsibilities. As of 2007 GSO in New York employees 40 or so such workers.

AA receives proceeds from books and literature which constitute more than 50% of the income for the General Service Office (GSO),[10] which unlike individual groups is not self-supporting and maintains a small salaried staff. It also maintains service centers which coordinate activities like printing literature, responding to public inquiries, and organizing conferences. They are funded by local members and responsible to the AA groups they represent.

[edit] Program

See also: Twelve-step program: The Twelve Steps

The scope of AA's program is much broader than just changing drinking behavior.[11] AA process encourages the transformation of the alcoholic's moral character,[12] transitioning from self-centeredness; encouraging a personality change sufficient to recover from alcoholism."[13] While abstaining from alcohol, one day at a time, the personality change is believed to be brought about by means of a spiritual awakening achieved from following the Twelve Steps,[14] helping with duties and service work in AA,[15] and regular AA meeting attendance[16] or contact with AA members.[14] Members are encouraged to find an experienced fellow alcoholic called a sponsor to help them understand and follow the AA program. Some members suggest the sponsor is preferably one that has maintained sobriety for at least a year and is of the same sex as the sponsored person, and who does not impose personal views on the sponsored person.[17] Following the helper therapy principle, sponsors in AA benefit as much, if not more, from their relationship than do those they sponsor. Helping behaviors correlate with increased abstinence and lower probabilities of binge drinking.[18] The AA program is distinct from the fellowship of AA.[citation needed] The fellowship includes meetings and friendships with other AA members, whereas the program refers to the course of action outlined in the first 164 pages of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition 2001, Seventeenth Printing, March 2006, Preface, page xi, "Therefore, the first portion of this volumne, describing the AA recovery program, has been left untouched in the course of revisions made...". (same citation)"But the chief change was in the section of personal stories, which was expanded to reflect the Fellowship's growth."

AA's program is an inheritor of Counter-Enlightenment philosophy. AA shares the view that acceptance of one's inherent limitations is critical to finding one's proper place among other humans and God. Such ideas are described as "Counter-Enlightenment" because they are at variance with the Enlightenment's ideal that humans have the capacity to make their lives and societies a heaven on earth using their own power and reason.[11]

[edit] Meetings

Anyone, including non-alcoholics, is allowed to attend "open" AA meetings, while "closed" meetings are reserved to those who have a desire to stop drinking.[19] There are groups for men or women, groups angled at gay people, and groups for speakers of minority languages. There are also "We Agnostics" meetings for less religious AA members. In general, however, anyone is welcome at these specialized meetings. Most AA meetings begin with socializing. Formats vary between meetings, for example, a beginners' meeting might include a talk by a long-time sober member about his or her personal experience of drinking, coming to AA and what was learned there about sobriety. A group discussion on topics related to alcoholism and the AA program might follow.[20]

In a typical meeting, the chairperson starts by calling the meeting to order and offering a short prayer, meditation, and/or period of silence (practice varies by meeting). Then, a section from the book Alcoholics Anonymous may be read aloud, usually the beginning of Chapter Five, entitled "How It Works". Announcements from the chairperson and group members follow. Many groups celebrate newcomers, visitors, and sobriety anniversaries with rounds of applause. Following announcements, donations are collected, usually by passing a basket around the room. There is no requirement to make a donation. Most members contribute a small amount, often just some loose change. The making of large donations (more than $3000) is actively discouraged in AA. Depending on the type of meeting, a talk by a speaker relating their personal experience with alcoholism and AA or a discussion session with topics chosen by the chairperson, the speaker, or the attendees follows.[21] The "no crosstalk" suggestions, where responding to another member's comments is discouraged, is a hallmark of AA meetings. In many meetings, in order to encourage identification, members confine their comments to their alcoholic drinking and recovery, following the guidelines of "what we were like, what happened and what we are like now". This format is intended to avoid distracting the group from its primary purpose. After the discussion period, the meeting is typically ended with a prayer, usually the Serenity Prayer or often in the US, the Lord's Prayer. These ending prayers are sometimes undertaken by the entire group forming a circle and holding hands. Members are neither expected, not required to say the prayer nor hold hands. More socializing typically follows the close of the formal meeting, and it is common for members to gather at a nearby coffee shop. Other meeting formats also exist where specific AA related topics are discussed in more detail. A common example is a Step Study meeting where one or more of the 12 steps are discussed at length.

A guide for hearing-impaired alcoholics and their interpreters describes AA meetings as containing "their own language, set of rules and values, and much 'in-group' language' and that members uses freely idiomatic and metaphorical phrases such as “Keep it simple”, “Let go and let God”, and “If you turn it over, but don’t let go, you end up upside-down”.[22]

[edit] Disease of alcoholism

Main article: Disease theory of alcoholism

AA regards alcoholism as an illness,[23][24] and uses the concept to challenge the belief of chronic, compulsive drinkers that they can stay sober by willpower alone.[25] Dr William Silkworth introduced to Wilson and AA the idea that alcoholism is an illness consisting of an obsession to drink alcohol, and an allergy, which was the compulsion to continue drinking once the first drink had been taken.[26] (Silkworth's understanding of an allergy in the 1930s differs from that used in modern medicine today.)[27] Alcoholics, he argued, can never safely use alcohol in any form at all, since once forming the habit, they cannot break it.[28]

[edit] Demographics

AA's New York General Service Office regularly surveys AA members in North America. Its 2004 survey of over 7,500 members in Canada and the United States concluded that, in North America, AA members who responded to the survey have these attributes: 89.1% white, 65% male/35% female. Average member sobriety is eight years with 36% sober more than ten years, 14% sober from five to ten years, 24% sober from one to five years, and 26% sober less than one year. Before coming to AA, 64% of members received some type of treatment or counseling, such as medical, psychological, or spiritual. After coming to AA, 65% received outside treatment or counseling, and 84% of those members said that that outside help played an important part in their recovery. The same survey showed that AA received 11% of its membership from court ordered attendance.[29] Because this sample is small and self-selected, it is unlikely to be representative of membership.

Other International General Service Offices (i.e., Australia, Costa Rica, Russia, etc.) are independent of AA World Services in New York.[30]

[edit] Effectiveness

See main article: Effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous

[edit] Limitations on research

The study of AA tends to polarize observers into believers and non-believers, and discussion of AA often creates controversy rather than objective reflection. Some[citation needed] researchers take a skeptical view of AA because AA's solution (Jung's spiritual experience on p 26 & the spiritual awakening described in Appendix II of AA's basic text) is spiritual, that is not tangible or material (i.e., not scientific).[31] A randomized trial of AA is very difficult because members are self-selected, not randomly selected from the population of chronic alcoholics,[32] with the possible exception of those who participate in AA to comply with a court mandate. Two opposing types of self-selection bias are that drinkers may be motivated to stop drinking before they participate in AA, and AA may attract the more severe and difficult cases.[33] Control groups with AA versus non-AA subjects are also difficult because AA is so easily accessible.[33]

[edit] Studies

Many studies have demonstrated an association between AA attendance and increased abstinence or other positive outcomes.[34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] Other studies have concluded that AA attendance can lead to poorer outcomes than other therapies.[38][42][43][44][45]

[edit] Attrition

In a 1989 internal AA report based on an average of five surveys, it was estimated that of those who attended AA meetings for the first time, nearly one third (31.5%) leave the program after one month. By the end of the third month, just over half (52.6%) have left. Of those who remain after three months, about half (55.6%) will remain until the twelfth month.[46] After the first year, the rate of attrition slows.

About 40% of the members sober for less than a year will remain another year, About 80% of those sober less than five years will remain sober and active in the fellowship another year. About 90% of the members sober five years or more will remain sober and active in the fellowship another year, however the survey states that this information does not predict the number that will remain sober, and those who remain sober but not in the fellowship cannot be calculated. These figures have been repeated within a few percentage points using the same calculations since 1974.[47]

[edit] Relationship with institutions

[edit] Prisons

In the United Kingdom, Alcoholics Anonymous holds meetings in prisons. AA prison and probation liaisons cooperate with staff and AA volunteers give talks to staff in the legal profession.[48] In the United States AA meetings are held in hundreds of correctional facilities.[49] The AA General Service Office has published a workbook with detailed recommendations for methods to approach correctional facility officials with the intent of developing an in-prison AA program.[49] In addition, a variety of pamphlets are published by AA specifically for the incarcerated alcoholic [50] The AA General Service Office also provides a pamphlet with guidelines for members involved in doing the twelfth step work, that is "carrying the message to those who still suffer." The pamphlet instructs members how to work within correctional facilties.[51]

[edit] Court rulings

Since 1996, courts across the United States, in a number of different cases, have ruled that inmates, parolees, and probationers cannot be ordered to attend AA. Though AA itself was not deemed to be a religion, it was found to contain enough religious components (spirituality, god, prayer and proselytism) to make such coercion a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the constitution. In September 2007, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit stated that a parole office can be sued for ordering a parolee to attend Alcoholics Anonymous.[52][53][54]

[edit] American treatment industry

Since 1949 when Hazelden treatment center was founded by members of Alcoholics Anonymous, some alcoholic rehabilitation clinics have frequently incorporated precepts of the AA program into their own treatment programs.[55] A reverse influence has also occurred with AA receiving 31% of its membership from treatment center referrals.[29] Alcoholics Anonymous, however, does not endorse and is not allied with any rehabilitation center or outside facility.

In a survey of treatment providers from three separate institutions (the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, Rational Recovery Systems and the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors) measuring the treatment provider's responses on the Spiritual Belief Scale (a scale measuring belief in the four spiritual characteristics AA identified by Ernest Kurtz); the scores were found to explain 41% of the variance in the treatment provider's responses on the Addiction Belief Scale (a scale measuring adherence to the disease model or the free-will model addiction).[56]

[edit] United Kingdom treatment industry

A cross-sectional survey of substance misuse treatment providers in the English West Midlands found fewer than ten percent integrated twelve-step methods in their practice and only a third felt their consumers were suited for Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous membership. Less than half have were likely to recommend self-help groups to their clients. Providers with nursing qualification were more likely to make such referrals than those without. A statistically significant correlation was found between providers self-reported level spirituality and their likelihood of recommending AA or NA.[57]

[edit] Criticism and controversy

See also: Twelve-step program: Criticism

[edit] Moderation or abstinence

AA acknowledges that not all drinkers are alcoholics, but advocates total abstinence for those who are.[58][59] However, some critics argue that some AA groups apply the disease model to all problem drinkers, whether or not they are full-blown alcoholics,[60] and believe that more options should be available to problem drinkers who can manage their drinking with the right treatment.[61]

A 2002 U.S. study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) showed that 17.7% of individuals diagnosed as alcohol dependent more than one year prior returned to low-risk drinking. However, this group showed fewer initial symptoms of dependency.[62] A follow-up study, using the same NESARC subjects that were judged to be in remission in 2001-2002, examined the rates of return to problem drinking in 2004-2005. The major conclusion made by the authors of this NIAAA study was "Abstinence represents the most stable form of remission for most recovering alcoholics".[63] A long-term (60 year) follow-up of two groups of alcoholic men concluded that "return to controlled drinking rarely persisted for much more than a decade without relapse or evolution into abstinence."[64]

[edit] Cultural identity

One review of AA warned of detrimental iatrogenic effects of twelve-step philosophy, and concluded that AA uses many methods that are also used by cults.[65] However, a further study concluded that AA's program bore little semblance to a religious cult's because the techniques used appeared beneficial.[66] Another study found that an AA program's focus on self-admission of having a problem increases deviant stigma and strips members of their previous cultural identity replacing it with the deviant identity.[67] A survey of group members, however, found they had a bicultural identity and saw AA's program as a complement to their other national, ethnic, and religious cultures.[68]

[edit] Other notable criticism

  • AA undertakes no external restriction, screening, or vetting of its members.[69]
  • "Thirteenth-stepping" is a disparaging euphemism used by some AA members to refer to the romantic or sexual involvement of an existing male or female member with a newcomer.[70] To avoid this type of behavior, AA typically suggests that men be sponsored by men, and women be sponsored by women (though in some cases, particularly with members who are homosexual, men may be sponsored by women and vice versa).[71]
  • Critics have argued that some AA members rely too heavily on dogmatic slogans and become overly dependent on the group.[72]
  • Although a statement is read during meetings that what is said there should remain confidential, AA members, unlike lawyers or clergy, are not legally bound to maintain confidentiality.[73][74][75]

[edit] Literature

Alcoholics Anonymous publishes several books, reports, pamphlets and other media including a periodical known as the AA Grapevine.[76] Two books are used primarily, Alcoholics Anonymous (the "Big Book") and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions which explains AA's fundamental principles in depth.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Twelve Traditions". The A.A. Grapevine (Alcoholics Anonymous) 6 (6). November 1949. ISSN 0362-2584. OCLC 50379271. 
  2. ^ AA General Service Office (PDF). A.A. Preamble. http://www.aa.org/lang/en/en_pdfs/smf-92_en.pdf. Retrieved on September 4, 2008. 
  3. ^ 'Alcoholics Anonymous' (June 1, 1976). Alcoholics Anonymous: the story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism (4th edition ed.). New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. ISBN 0916856593. OCLC 32014950. http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/. 
  4. ^ McIntire, Don (December 2000). "How Well Does A.A. Work? An Analysis of Published A.A. Surveys (1968-1996) and Related Analyses/Comments". Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 18 (4): 1–18. doi:10.1300/J020v18n04_01. 
  5. ^ Timko, C., & Debenedetti, A. (October 2007). "A randomized controlled trial of intensive referral to 12-step self-help groups: One-year outcomes". Drug and Alcohol Dependence 90 (2-3): 270–279. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.04.007. 
  6. ^ Pass It on: The Story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. Message Reached the World. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.. December 1984. pp. 131–149. ISBN 9780916856120. http://books.google.com/books?id=99ATAAAACAAJ&dq=Pass+It+On+Alcoholics+Anonymous. 
  7. ^ Pass It on: The Story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. Message Reached the World. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.. December 1984. p. 359. ISBN 9780916856120. http://books.google.com/books?id=99ATAAAACAAJ&dq=Pass+It+On+Alcoholics+Anonymous. 
  8. ^ a b c "AA Fact File". Alcoholics Anonymous website. http://www.aa.org/en_information_aa.cfm?PageID=2. Retrieved on November 28, 2008. 
  9. ^ Wilson, Bill. "The A.A. Service Manual Combined with Twelve Concepts for World Services" (PDF). A.A. World Services, Inc.. http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/en_bm-31.pdf. 
  10. ^ "GSO 2005 Operating Results, 'Gross Profit from Literature ~$6.7M (55%), Contributions ~$5.4M (45%)'"]. A.A. General Services Office. http://www.aa.org/en_gso05_operresults.cfm. 
  11. ^ a b Humphreys, Keith; Kaskutas, Lee A. "World Views of Alcoholics Anonymous, Women for Sobriety, and Adult Children of Alcoholics/Al-Anon Mutual Help Groups". Addiction Research & Theory 3 (3): 231-243. doi:10.3109/16066359509005240. 
  12. ^ 'Alcoholics Anonymous' (June 1, 1976). "Chapter 5: How It Works" (PDF). Alcoholics Anonymous: the story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism (4th edition ed.). New York, NY. pp. 58–71. ISBN 0916856593. OCLC 2353981. http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt5.pdf. 
  13. ^ (Alcoholics Anonymous, Appendix II)
  14. ^ a b This is AA pamphlet
  15. ^ Sponsorship-A Vital Stepping Stone to Service & Sobriety[dead link]
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  17. ^ [1][dead link] Questions and Answers on Sponsorship pamphlet
  18. ^ Zemore, S. E., Kaskutas, L. A., & Ammon, L. N. (August 2004). "In 12-step groups, helping helps the helper". Addiction 99 (8): 1015–1023. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00782.x. 
  19. ^ "AA at a Glance pamphlet". Alcoholics Anonymous website. http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_information_aa.cfm?PageID=10. Retrieved on November 28, 2008. 
  20. ^ [2] Suggestions for Leading Beginners Meetings pamphlet
  21. ^ Kirkpatrick, Kayla EJ. "Interpreting AA (and other 12-step) Meetings." American Sign Language Interpreting Resources, 10 December 1999. <http://asl_interpreting.tripod.com/situational_studies/kejk1.htm>. 12 March 2008.
  22. ^ Kirkpatrick, Kayla EJ. "Interpreting AA (and other 12-step) Meetings." American Sign Language Interpreting Resources, 10 December 1999. <http://asl_interpreting.tripod.com/situational_studies/kejk1.htm>. 12 March 2008.
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  24. ^ The Alcoholic Can Recover (AA pamphlet)
  25. ^ Alcoholics Anonymous (June 2001). "Chapter 3: More About Alcoholism" (PDF). Alcoholics Anonymous (4th edition ed.). New York, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. pp. 30–43. ISBN 1893007162. OCLC 32014950. http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_BigBook_chapt3.pdf. [dead link]
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  28. ^ Alcoholics Anonymous The Doctor's Opinion page xxviii.
  29. ^ a b http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_pdfs/p-48_04survey.pdf AA 2004 Membership Survey issued by AA World Services' General Service Office - www.aa.org
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  31. ^ Vaillant, George Eman (May 1995). "Chapter 4: Paths into Abstinence". The Natural History of Alcoholism Revisited (2nd edition ed.). Harvard University Press. pp. 231–277. ISBN 0674603788. OCLC 31605790. 
  32. ^ Edwards, Griffith (April 2002). "Chapter 8: Alcoholics Anonymous". Alcohol: The World's Favorite Drug (1st edition ed.). Thomas Dunne Books. pp. 103–117. ISBN 0312283873. OCLC 48176740. 
  33. ^ a b Humphreys, Keith (2002). "Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-Step Alcoholism Treatment Programs". Recent Developments in Alcoholism. 16. Springer US. pp. 149–164. doi:10.1007/b100495. ISBN 978-0-306-47258-9. 
  34. ^ Moos, Rudolf H.; Moos, Bernice S. (June 2006). "Participation in Treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous: A 16-Year Follow-Up of Initially Untreated Individuals". Journal of Clinical Psychology: 735–750. doi:10.1002/jclp.20259. PMID 16538654. 
  35. ^ Moos, Rudolf H.; Moos, Bernice S. (February 2006). "Rates and predictors of relapse after natural and treated remission from alcohol use disorders". Addiction 101 (2): 212 – 222. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01310.x. PMID 16445550. 
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  37. ^ Humphreys, Keith; Moos, Rudolf (May 2001). "Can encouraging substance abuse patients to participate in self-help groups reduce demand for health care? A quasi-experimental study". Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 25 (5): 711–716. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2001.tb02271.x. ISSN 1530-0277. PMID 11371720. 
  38. ^ a b J. Morgenstern et al. "Affiliation with Alcoholics Anonymous after treatment: a study of its therapeutic effects and mechanisms of action." (Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, 1997 Oct;65(5):768-7)
  39. ^ J. Scott Tonigan PhD. "Benefits of Alcoholics Anonymous Attendance" (University of New Mexico, 2001) pp 67 - 77
  40. ^ (August 1967). "A Controlled Experiment on the Use of Court Probation for Drunk Arrests". American Journal of Psychiatry 124 (2): Abstract.
  41. ^ Atkins, R. G. & Hawdon, J. E. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment "Religiosity and participation in mutual-aid support groups for addiction", Vol. 33, Issue 3, Oct. 2007, pp. 321-331 available online at www.sciencedirect.com
  42. ^ Brandsma, Jeffrey, Phd. , Maultsby , Maxie, Welsh, M.D. Richard, M.S.W. The OutPatient Treatment of Alcoholism
  43. ^ Larimer, Mary E; Palmer, Rebekka S; Marlatt, G. Alan (1999). "Relapse prevention. An overview of Marlatt's cognitive-behavioral model". Alcohol research & health : the journal of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 23 (2): 151–160. ISSN 1535-7414. OCLC 42453373. PMID 10890810. 
  44. ^ Two-Year Outcome of Alcohol Interventions in Swedish University Halls of Residence: A Cluster Randomized Trial of a Brief Skills Training Program, Twelve-Step-Influenced Intervention, and Controls Authors: Ståhlbrandt, Henriettæ1; Johnsson, Kent O.1; Berglund, Mats1 Source: Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research, Volume 31, Number 3, March 2007, pp. 458-466(9) Publisher: Blackwell Publishing http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/acer/2007/00000031/00000003/art00014
  45. ^ "Do Alcoholics Anonymous Groups Really Work? Factors of Adherence in a Brazilian Sample of Hospitalized Alcohol Dependents". American Journal on Addictions. American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. January 1, 2008. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content?content=10.1080/10550490701756393. Retrieved on March 5, 2009. 
  46. ^ The nature of the survey questions asked do not allow a direct comparison between the twelfth month of the first year and the first month of the second year. Only those in the first year are recorded by month.
  47. ^ "Comments On A.A. Triennial Surveys" (PDF, 2 MB), Dec. 1990, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
  48. ^ "Alcoholics Anonymous UK: Legal Professionals". Alcoholics Anonymous UK website. http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/prof/legal.shtml. Retrieved on November 28, 2008. 
  49. ^ a b Corrections Workbook, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Grand Central Station, Box 459, New York, NY 10163
  50. ^ Carrying the Message into Correctional Facilities, Where Do I Go From Here?, A.A. in Prison: Inmate to Inmate, A.A. in Correctional Facilities, It Sure Beats Sitting in a Cell Memo to an Inmate Who May be an Alcoholic, A Message to Corrections Administrators. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Grand Central Station, Box 459, New York, NY 10163
  51. ^ AA Guidelines from GSO, "Cooperating with Court, DWI and Similar Programs. http://alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_pdfs/mg-o5_coopwithcourt.pdf
  52. ^ Egelko, Bob (September 8, 2007). "Appeals court says requirement to attend AA unconstitutional". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/08/BA99S1AKQ.DTL. Retrieved on October 8, 2007. 
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  56. ^ Schaler, Jeffrey Alfred (1997). "Addiction Beliefs of Treatment Providers: Factors Explaining Variance". Addiction Research & Theory 4 (4): 367–384. doi:10.3109/16066359709002970. ISSN 1476-7392. 
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  58. ^ Alcoholics Anonymous (June 2001) (PDF). Alcoholics Anonymous (4th edition ed.). New York, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. ISBN 1893007162. OCLC 32014950. http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_BigBook_chapt2.pdf. [dead link]
  59. ^ Dr. William D. Silkworth in the Doctor's Opinion in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous states that for the alcoholic, "the only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence".
  60. ^ Stanton Peele The Diseasing of America. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1989, http://www.peele.net/lib/diseasing.html
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[edit] External links

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