Social Processes Explaining the Benefits of Al-Anon Participation

This study examined social processes of support, goal direction, provision of role models, and involvement in rewarding activities to explain benefits of participating in Al-Anon, a 12-step mutual-help program for people concerned about another person's substance use. 

Newcomers to Al-Anon were studied at baseline and 6 months later, at which time they were identified as having either sustained attendance or dropped out. Among both newcomers and established Al-Anon members ("old-timers"), we also used number of Al-Anon meetings attended during follow-up to indicate extent of participation. 

Social processes significantly mediated newcomers' sustained attendance status versus dropped out and outcomes of Al-Anon in the areas of life context (e.g., better quality of life, better able to handle problems due to the drinker), improved positive symptoms (e.g., higher self-esteem, more hopeful), and decreased negative symptoms (e.g., less abuse, less depressed). 

Social processes also significantly mediated newcomers' number of meetings attended and outcomes. However, among old-timers, Al-Anon attendance was not associated with outcomes, so the potential mediating role of social processes could not be examined, but social processes were associated with outcomes. 

Findings add to the growing body of work identifying mechanisms by which 12-step groups are effective, by showing that bonding, goal direction, and access to peers in recovery and rewarding pursuits help to explain associations between sustained Al-Anon participation among newcomers and improvements on key concerns of Al-Anon attendees. Al-Anon is free of charge and widely available, making it a potentially cost-effective public health resource for help alleviating negative consequences of concern about another's addiction

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By:   Timko C¹, Halvorson M¹, Kong C¹, Moos RH¹.

¹Center for Innovation to Implementation, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System.

Psychol Addict Behav. 2015 Dec;29(4):856-863.

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Personal Network Recovery Enablers and Relapse Risks for Women with Substance Dependence

We examined the experiences of women in treatment for substance dependence and their treatment providers about personal networks and recovery. We conducted six focus groups at three women’s intensive substance abuse treatment programs. Four coders used thematic analysis to guide the data coding and an iterative process to identify major themes. Coders identified social network characteristics that enabled and impeded recovery and a reciprocal relationship between internal states, relationship management, and recovery. Although women described adding individuals to their networks, they also described managing existing relationships through distancing from or isolating some members to diminish their negative impact on recovery. Treatment providers identified similar themes but focused more on contextual barriers than the women. The focus of interventions with this population should be on both internal barriers to personal network change such as mistrust and fear, and helping women develop skills for managing enduring network relationships...

The aims of this study were to identify the qualities of the salient relationships in women’s personal networks that served as either recovery enablers or risks for relapse, and to identify barriers to making changes in personal network relationships to facilitate recovery. These data reflected the ambivalent nature of relationships and network change for these women. Changes in personal networks involved fear and loss that were sometimes unaddressed by treatment providers. In addition, even substance abusing friends and family and those who enabled substance use in the past were described by participants as providing important support and maintaining some positive involvement with women.

Whereas traditional 12-step-oriented treatment models emphasize changing people and places, these data indicated that such changes might be very difficult for socioeconomically disadvantaged women to achieve. Zelvin (1999), using a relational approach to women and addiction, conceptualized women’s relationship problems as “maladaptive attempts to connect rather than the failure to separate” (p. 9) and suggested that women’s relational focus should be viewed as a strength to promote more positive relationships in recovery. Substance abuse treatment providers hear many client narratives describing negative relationships with partners, families, and friends. These narratives lead them to conclude that these network relationships are more of a liability than a potential resource in recovery. Providers might then miss opportunities to educate and coach women in ways to change and adapt network relationships toward being more supportive of recovery...

Full article at: http://goo.gl/kxo4nt

By: Suzanne Brown,1 Elizabeth M. Tracy,2 MinKyoung Jun,3 Hyunyong Park,2 and Meeyoung O. Min2

¹Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

²Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

³

¹Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA

²Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

³Gyeonggido Family and Women’s Research Institute, Suwon, South Korea

Corresponding Author: Suzanne Brown, School of Social Work, Wayne State University, 4756 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Email:ude.enyaw@nworb.ennazus

   

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