Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

___________________________________________

Friday, September 21, 2007

Spirituality and recovery in 12-step programs: An empirical model
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Volume 33, Issue 3, October 2007, Pages 265-272


Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12-step programs are widely employed in the addiction rehabilitation community. It is therefore important for researchers and clinicians to have a better understanding of how recovery from addiction takes place, in terms of psychological mechanisms associated with spiritual renewal.

A program like AA is described here as a spiritual recovery movement, that is, one that effects compliance with its behavioral norms by engaging recruits in a social system that promotes new and transcendent meaning in their lives.

The mechanisms underlying the attribution of new meaning in AA are considered by recourse to the models of positive psychology and social network support; both models have been found to be associated with constructive health outcomes in a variety of contexts.

By drawing on available empirical research, it is possible to define the diagnosis of addiction and the criteria for recovery in spiritually oriented terms.

Read Full Abstract


Reprint Request E-Mail: marcgalanter@nyu.edu
_____________________________________________________________
at