Al-Anon newcomers: benefits of continuing attendance for six months.
Background: Al-Anon Family Groups, a 12-step mutual-help program for people concerned about another person's drinking, is the most widely used form of help by Concerned Others.Objectives: This longitudinal study examined newcomers' outcomes of attending Al-Anon. Aims were to better understand early...
| Published in: | American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse Vol. 42; no. 4; pp. 441 - 450 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jul2016
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=116323937&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 116323937 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 00952990 DAA jtl: American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse issn: 00952990 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jul2016 vid: 42 iid: 4 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 116323937 116323937 NLM27120262 116323937 10.3109/00952990.2016.1148702 NLM27120262 PMC4976777 [Available on 07/01/17] 116323937 ppf: 441 ppct: 9 formats: tig: atl: Al-Anon newcomers: benefits of continuing attendance for six months. aug: au: Timko, Christine Laudet, Alexandre Moos, Rudolf H. affil: Center for Innovation to Implementation, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System and Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA sug: subj: Patient Compliance Alcoholics Anonymous Quality of Life Alcoholism Therapy Male Prospective Studies Middle Age Female Funding Source Human Middle Aged: 45-64 years Male Female ab: Background: Al-Anon Family Groups, a 12-step mutual-help program for people concerned about another person's drinking, is the most widely used form of help by Concerned Others.Objectives: This longitudinal study examined newcomers' outcomes of attending Al-Anon. Aims were to better understand early gains from Al-Anon to inform efforts in the professional community to facilitate concerned others' attendance of and engagement in Al-Anon.Methods: We compared two groups of Al-Anon newcomers who completed surveys at baseline and 6 months later: those who discontinued attendance by the 6-month follow-up (N = 133), and those who were still attending Al-Anon meetings (N = 97); baseline characteristics were controlled in these comparisons.Results: Newcomers who sustained participation in Al-Anon over the first 6 months of attendance were more likely than those who discontinued participation during the same period to report gains in a variety of domains, such as learning how to handle problems due to the drinker, and increased well-being and functioning, including reduced verbal or physical abuse victimization. Newcomers to Al-Anon reported more personal gains than drinker-related gains. The most frequent drinker gain was a better relationship with the Concerned Other; attendees were more likely to report this, as well as daily, in-person contact with the drinker.Conclusion: Al-Anon participation may facilitate ongoing interaction between Concerned Others and drinkers, and help Concerned Others function and feel better. Thus, short-term participation may be beneficial. Health-care professionals should consider providing referrals to Al-Anon and monitoring early attendance. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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