Alcohol and Addiction: Empirical Observations of a -Step Program in Action

First organized in 1935 by Dr. Bob Smith and Bill Wilson to help others who were suffering from the ravages of alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous has become one of the worlds most recognized and attended 12-step programs today (Wagener, 2019). The purpose of the research paper is provide my empirical observations of an Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting. The research question that will guide the project is, Are 12-step programs an effective intervention for addictions? This research question was motivated by a study of the effectiveness of 12-step programs for the treatment of alcoholism compared to other types of interventions by Blum and Davis (2014). A description of my experiences at a local open AA meeting is followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning the guiding research question in the papers conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Finding an open AA meeting was a straightforward enterprise. A simple search for open AA meetings and non-smoking in and around my municipality produced several million matches which were quickly nailed down to the top four or five listings which provided precisely what was needed. The listings included one location in a nearby church meeting room that took place each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and I elected to attend the Thursday meeting since it was the next available date. Having researched how open AA meetings operate as well as the fundamental tenets of this 12-step program, I was confident that I generally knew what to expect but I was still somewhat nervous since this was a novel experience for me.

Following my arrival at the church that I had driven by dozens of times without thinking about it, I saw a sign directing attendees to the AA meeting in a basement meeting room. After reaching the bottom of the stairs on my way to the meeting room, I started to hear some laughter and friendly banter which alleviated my nervousness somewhat. Nevertheless, entering the meeting room was still something of a shock since it was completely filled with other adults who were sitting in folding chairs arranged in a large circle. Many attendees were holding cups of coffee and were talking with each other spiritedly, but there were some attendees who did not even look at other people and focused their attention on reading the AAs famous blue book to avoid interactions until the meeting started.

At the designated time, one of the attendees stood up who was apparently the group leader and announced that she was Linda and an alcoholic. All of the attendees responded by saying Hi, Linda! The group leader then welcomed everyone to the Thursday night meeting of the XYZ Club (not its real name). The leader then listed and explained the twelve steps that AA advocated for recovering from addiction, and she then led the group in the Serenity Prayer which is apparently a standard fixture at any 12-step meeting. Following the Serenity Prayer, Linda asked if anyone felt especially compelled to share and several attendees raised their hands to volunteer.

After selecting one of...

…prefaced the Lords Prayer by asking, Whose Father? to which the attendees responded, Our Father ). Many of the attendees remained after the meeting had ended to shake hands, hug or exchange other greetings. It was clear that there was a significant amount of camaraderie involved in the XYZ Club meetings, and that the attendees were receiving the support and assistance they needed during this difficult period in their lives.

It is unclear whether this level of leadership expertise and support is available in all 12-step program meetings, but it is reasonable to posit that Lindas leadership was responsible for much of the smooth operation of the meeting and what support it provided the attendees. This assumption is based on the findings of a study by Campbell and Allison (2013) that found that the type of group leader that is involved has a significant effect on the effectiveness of 12-step programs.

Conclusion

The research was consistent in showing that many people voluntarily attend 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous while others are required to do so by the courts due to their involvement with the criminal justice system. Although the efficacy of 12-steps programs remains a subject of serious scholarship, the results of this study showed that the abstinence-only approach used by Alcoholic Anonymous and other 12-step programs has limited effectiveness in achieving long-term success in treating addictions, but a growing body of research confirms that 12-step programs are popular and highly cost effective. As a result, it is reasonable to conclude that clinicians will likely continue to refer addicted clients to these…