Effects of long-term AA attendance and spirituality on the course of depressive symptoms in individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with depression. Although attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings predicts reductions in drinking, results have been mixed about the salutary effects of AA on reducing depressive symptoms. In this single-group study, early AA affiliates (n = 253) were recruited, consented, and assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. Lagged growth models were used to investigate the predictive effect of AA attendance on depression, controlling for concurrent drinking and treatment attendance. Depression was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and was administered at baseline 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Additional predictors of depression tested included spiritual gains (Religious Background and Behavior questionnaire [RBB]) and completion of 12-step work (Alcoholics Anonymous Inventory [AAI]). Eighty-five percent of the original sample provided follow-up data at 24 months. Overall, depression decreased over the 24 month follow-up period. AA attendance predicted later reductions in depression (slope = -3.40, p = .01) even after controlling for concurrent drinking and formal treatment attendance. Finally, increased spiritual gains (RBB) also predicted later reductions in depression (slope = -0.10, p = .02) after controlling for concurrent drinking, treatment, and AA attendance. In summary, reductions in alcohol consumption partially explained decreases in depression in this sample of early AA affiliates, and other factors such as AA attendance and increased spiritual practices also accounted for reductions in depression beyond that explained by drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record