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It Helps To Get Help

Most clinical studies examine individuals either during or immediately following formal treatment. However, individuals who are willing to acknowledge their alcohol-use problems actually choose self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), and/or treatment, or sometimes nothing at all. This study tracks individuals for 16 years who chose one of these three options, comparing their success rates and/or life changes.

Researchers surveyed 461 individuals (232 females, 229 males) who had initial contact with an alcoholism treatment system for their alcohol-use disorder. Study participants were asked about their subsequent participation in A.A., further treatment or any other kind of assistance – as well as their alcohol-related functioning, life context and coping responses – at baseline (initial contact) and then again at one, three, eight and 16 years later.

Whether or not the individuals obtained help, study results indicate that their alcohol-related functioning, life context, and coping improved. However, those individuals who obtained help either through A.A. or treatment during the first year improved more, and were more likely to achieve stable remission than those who obtained no help at all.

(Moos, RH, Moos, BS: Sixteen-year changes and stable remission among treated and untreated individuals with alcohol use disorders. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 80:337-347, 2005.)

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