Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2014
Do young people benefit from AA as much, and in the same ways, as adult aged 30+? A moderated multiple mediation analysis.
Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Incorporating Social Networks and Event-Specific Information in a Personalized Feedback Intervention to Reduce Drinking Among Young Adults.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2022Trial
- Combined pharmacotherapy and evidence-based psychosocial Cannabis treatment for youth and selection of cannabis-using friends.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Day-level shifts in social contexts during youth cannabis use treatment.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2021Trial
- Testing a Matching Hypothesis for Emerging Adults in Project MATCH: During-Treatment and One-Year Outcomes.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2017Trial
- How Age and Race/Ethnicity Affect the Benefits of Mutual-Help Group Involvement for People With Alcohol Use Disorders: Findings From the PAL Study Cohorts.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Recovery capital, the recovery ecosystem, and substance use among recovery high school students.Frontiers in adolescent medicine · 2025Article
- Prevalence and correlates of 12-step and second-wave mutual-help attendance in a nationally representative US sample.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- Disparities in Alcoholics Anonymous Participation from 2000 to 2020 Among U.S. Residents With an Alcohol Use Disorder in the National Alcohol Survey.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2024Article
- Article
- A Causal Analysis of Young Adults' Binge Drinking Reduction and Cessation.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2023Article
- Article
- MECHANISMS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN 12-STEP APPROACHES TO RECOVERY IN YOUNG ADULTS.Current addiction reports · 2018Article
- Reasons for Testing Mediation in the Absence of an Intervention Effect: A Research Imperative in Prevention and Intervention Research.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2018Article
- Age differences in outcomes among patients in the "Stimulant Abuser Groups to Engage in 12-Step" (STAGE-12) intervention.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2018Article
- How many or how much? Testing the relative influence of the number of social network risks versus the amount of time exposed to social network risks on post-treatment substance use.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2017Article
- Is Alcoholics Anonymous religious, spiritual, neither? Findings from 25 years of mechanisms of behavior change research.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2017Review
- The effects of continuing care on emerging adult outcomes following residential addiction treatment.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundResearch has shown that participation in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) confers significant recovery benefit to adults suffering from alcohol use disorder (AUD). Concerns persist, however, that AA may not work as well for younger adults, who tend to have shorter addiction histories, different social circumstances, and less spiritual/religious interest than adults.
methodsSecondary data analysis of Project MATCH, using a prospective, moderated multiple mediation analysis to test and compare six previously identified mechanisms of change in younger adults (n=266) vs. adults aged 30+ (n=1460). Nine clinical sites within the United States. Treatment-seeking adults (n=1726) suffering from AUD who participated in 12 weeks of outpatient treatment and completed follow-ups at 3-, 9- and 15-months. AA attendance during treatment; mediators at 9 months; and outcomes [percentage of days abstinent (PDA) and drinks per drinking day (DDD)] at 15 months.
resultsAA attendance was associated with improved drinking outcomes in both younger adults (PDA: F(1, 247)=8.55, p<0.01; DDD: F(1, 247)=15.93, p<0.01) and adults aged 30+ (PDA: F(1, 1311)=86.58, p<0.01; DDD: F(1, 1311)=11.96, p<0.01). Only two of the six hypothesized pathways (i.e., decreases in pro-drinking social networks, self-efficacy in social situations) appeared to work in younger adults.
conclusionUnidentified mechanisms of behavior change that are mobilized by AA participation appear to be at work in young people. Once identified, these mechanisms may shed new light on how exactly AA confers similar benefits for young people and, more broadly, may enhance our understanding of recovery-related change for young adults that could yield novel intervention targets.
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