Spirituality and Recovery from Familial Aspects of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: Analysis of an Online Al-Anon Meeting

Men and women who attend Al-Anon: gender differences in reasons for attendance, health status and personal functioning, and drinker characteristics

Although Al-Anon Family Groups (Al-Anon) is the most common source of help for people concerned about someone else's drinking, only 16% of members are men. To identify gender differences, we compared demographics, reasons for attendance, health status, and personal functioning, and drinker characteristics of 174 men and women attending Al-Anon. Men and women were similar in most areas; however, some key differences emerged. Men reported better overall mental health than women, and described some differing concerns and drinker characteristics. With this information, healthcare providers may facilitate men's participation in Al-Anon by addressing their unique concerns and possible barriers to attendance.

Al-Anon family groups' newcomers and members: Concerns about the drinkers in their lives

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Despite Al-Anon's widespread availability and use, knowledge is lacking about the drinkers in attendees' lives. We filled this gap by describing and comparing Al-Anon newcomers' and members' reports about their "main drinker" (main person prompting initial attendance).

METHODS

Al-Anon's World Service Office mailed a random sample of groups, yielding completed surveys from newcomers (N = 362) and stable members (N = 265).

RESULTS

Newcomers' and members' drinkers generally were comparable. They had known their drinker for an average of 22 years and been concerned about his or her's drinking for 9 years; about 50% had daily contact with the drinker. Most reported negative relationship aspects (drinker gets on your nerves; you disagree about important things). Newcomers had more concern about the drinker's alcohol use than members did, and were more likely to report their drinkers' driving under the influence. Drinkers' most frequent problem due to drinking was family arguments, and most common source of help was 12-step groups, with lower rates among drinkers of newcomers. Concerns spurring initial Al-Anon attendance were the drinker's poor quality of life, relationships, and psychological status; goals for initial attendance reflected these concerns.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The drinker's alcohol use was of less concern in prompting initial Al-Anon attendance, and, accordingly, the drinker's reduced drinking was a less frequently endorsed goal of attendance.

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE

Family treatments for substance use problems might expand interventions and outcome domains beyond abstinence and relationship satisfaction to include the drinker's quality of life and psychological symptoms and in turn relieve concerns of family members.

Newcomers to Al-Anon family groups: Who stays and who drops out?

Al-Anon Family Groups (Al-Anon), a 12-step mutual-help program for people concerned about another's drinking, is the most widely used form of help for concerned others (COs) in the US. This study assessed the prevalence of dropout, and predictors of dropout, in the six months following newcomers' initial attendance at Al-Anon meetings. Al-Anon's World Service Office mailed a random sample of groups, which subsequently yielded a sample of 251 newcomers who completed surveys at baseline and 6 months later. At the 6-month follow-up, 57% of newcomers at baseline had dropped out (had not attended any Al-Anon meetings during the past month). At baseline, individuals who later dropped out of Al-Anon were less likely to have been referred to Al-Anon by their drinker's health care provider, and reported less severe problems than individuals who continued to attend, but dropouts were more often concerned about their drinker's psychological health; newcomers with these concerns may have found them incompatible with Al-Anon's philosophy. Dropouts reported high rates of problems, suggesting that COs who drop out of Al-Anon would benefit from ongoing help and support.