United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Mental Health

Self-Help Toolkit: Self-Help Research

 
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Self-Help Research
Explore the research about self-help group participation and its benefits to patients with substance use disorders.
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Intensive referral to 12-Step self-help groups and 6-month substance use disorder outcomes

Topic: This study implemented and evaluated procedures to help clinicians make effective referrals to 12-Step self-help groups.

Findings: Connecting patients with 12-Step volunteers was associated with improved 12-Step group involvement and substance use outcomes.

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Participation in treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous: A 16-year follow-up of initially untreated individuals

Topic: This study focused on the duration of participation in professional treatment and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for previously untreated individuals with alcohol use disorders.

Findings: Some of the association between treatment and long-term alcohol-related outcomes appears to be due to participation in AA.

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Outcomes of AA for Special Populations

Topic: The chapter examines studies of outcomes of AA participation among special populations: women, adolescents, the elderly, racial and ethnic minority groups, disabled individuals, and people with co-occurring substance abuse and mental illness.

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Outcome Research on 12-Step and Other Self-Help Programs
Topic: This chapter reports on recent research findings in the field of substance use treatment and the benefits of self-help group participation. Key topics include: self-help group attendance, involvement, dropout rates, special populations and substance use outcomes.
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Intensive Referral to 12-Step Self-Help Groups: One-year attendance and involvement and substance use disorder outcomes

Topic: This study implemented and evaluated procedures to help clinicians make effective referrals to 12-step self-help groups.

Findings: Linking patients to 12-step volunteers and using 12-step journals to check on meeting attendance was associated with improved 12-step group attendance and involvement and substance use outcomes.

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Alcoholics anonymous involvement and positive alcohol-related outcomes: cause, consequence, or just a correlate? A prospective 2-year study of 2,319 alcohol-dependent men

Topic: The present study evaluated the question of whether AA affiliation appears causally related to positive alcohol-related outcomes.

Findings: This study indicated that AA participation has a positive effect on alcohol-related outcomes.

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Determinants of 12-step group affiliation and moderators of the affiliation–abstinence relationship

Topic: This study examined characteristics of substance use disorder outpatients at intake to treatment that were associated with more 12-step group attendance and involvement, Steps worked, and acceptance of 12-step philosophy.

Findings: Distinguishing baseline characteristics of patients who attended more 12-step group meetings during follow-up were being less-educated, more engaged in religious practices, and more extroverted and interpersonally competent, and having had more previous 12-step group exposure. More 12-step meeting attendance and involvement were related to abstinence at 6 months. Associations of attendance with abstinence were stronger among patients who were younger, white, less-educated, unstably employed, less religious, and less interpersonally skilled.