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Twelve-Step Involvement and Treatment Outcomes Among Young Women With Substance Use Disorders

NCJ Number
236631
Journal
Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 2011 Pages: 204-218
Author(s)
Audrey A. Klein, Ph.D.; Valerie J. Slaymaker, Ph.D.
Date Published
July 2011
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined post-treatment 12-Step involvement among young women attending 12-Step-based residential treatment for alcohol/drug dependence.
Abstract
The extent to which young women with substance use disorders (SUDs) affiliate with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or other 12-Step groups is currently unclear. This administrative data analysis examined 12-Step involvement and its impact on outcome during the first 6 months following treatment among a sample of young adults attending 12-step-based residential treatment. Young women were just as likely as similar-aged young men to attend 12-Step meetings and engage in prescribed 12-Step practices like getting a sponsor. Frequency of meeting attendance predicted abstinence status and number of drinking days at 6 months in women, whereas 12-Step experiences (e.g., getting a sponsor, considering oneself an AA member) predicted drinking days in men. The results contribute to knowledge of SUDs and their treatment among women in their late teens and early twenties, a population that has been quite understudied in the literature. (Published Abstract)