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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

CHARACTERISTICS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS MEMBERSHIP: 1992


This paper is a descriptive study of social, demographic, and behavioral characteristics associated with:
  1. never attending AA,
  2. dropping out of AA, and
  3. continuing membership in AA
Only 15% of Americans with DSM-IV alcohol abuse/dependence ever attended AA meetings.

The socio-economic and behavioral characteristics of the 15% who ever attend AA meetings form a cluster which represent a high severity dimension of the externalizing disorder spectrum continuum.

The 85% of Americans with DSM-IV alcohol abuse/dependence who never attend AA meetings form a cluster which represents the low severity dimension of the externalizing disorders spectrum continuum.

This study's findings concerning gender, age and occupations of individuals continuing to attend AA replicate and validate the findings in the Alcoholics Anonymous 1992 Membership Survey. This is the first study validating the AA surveys in an independent representative sample of the US population.

This study's findings support Battaglini et al's behavioral economic model of Alcoholics Anonymous as a self-control commitment device used by respondents with high perceived severity of alcohol-related problems to achieve and supporting abstinence.


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