The Relationship between Perceived Alcoholics Anonymous Social Group Dynamics and Getting an AA Sponsor

ABSTRACT

Research has shown that aspects of group dynamics of AA meetings are associated with AA attendance, alcohol use, and engagement in prescribed AA behaviors. This study investigated whether perceptions of AA meeting group dynamics changed over 12 months and whether these dynamics predicted the probability that a new member would get a sponsor. Results showed that perceptions of the group dynamics of AA meetings did not change over the 12-month assessment period. Member perception of group cohesion was the only AA meeting group dynamic that predicted a new member getting a sponsor. Findings suggest that group cohesion plays an important role in AA members recovery efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• 12-step
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• sponsor
• group environment
• social dynamics

Acknowledgments

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers K24-AA021157 and T32AA018108. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [K24-AA021157,T32AA018108].