The interplay between help seeking and alcohol related outcomes: divergent processes for professional treatment and self-help groups.
Summary:
This study examined the influence of self-selection on the duration of professional treatment and participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the influence of social causation on alcohol-related outcomes.
A sample of alcoholics was surveyed at baseline and 1, 3, and 8 years later. Participants completed an inventory at each survey that assessed participation in treatment and AA since the last assessment and alcohol-related functioning.
There were divergent processes of self-selection and social causation with respect to the duration of participation in professional treatment and AA.
Individuals with more severe alcohol-related problems obtained longer episodes of professional treatment, but this self-selection process was much less evident for AA.
Longer participation in professional treatment in the first year predicted better alcohol-related outcomes, but the duration of subsequent treatment was not associated with better subsequent outcomes.
In contrast, longer participation in AA consistently predicted better subsequent alcohol-related outcomes.
The findings are consistent with a need-based model of professional treatment, in which more treatment is selected by and allocated to individuals with more severe problems, and an egalitarian model of self-help, in which needs play little or no role in continued participation.
Rudolf H. Moos and Bernice S. Moos. The interplay between help-seeking and alcohol-related outcomes: divergent processes for professional treatment and self-help groups. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 75(2):155-164, August 2004.
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AA is not “treatment”. The term “12 step programs” is referring to rehabs (90%) who use the steps as treatment philosophy. Essentially Bill W.’s worst nightmare.
Thanks for receiving my comments, Andrew Park LCSW