ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2016
Recovery benefits of the "therapeutic alliance" among 12-step mutual-help organization attendees and their sponsors.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 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.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Longitudinal engagement and drinking outcomes associated with mode of 12-step attendance.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Observational
- Patient characteristics associated with their level of twelve-step attendance prior to entry into treatment for substance use disorders.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Mutual Help Groups for Illicit Drug Use Disorders: A Review of the Current Literature.Current addiction reports · 2025Article
- Peer support for patients with opioid use disorder in the emergency department: A narrative review.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2024Review
- Prevalence and correlates of 12-step and second-wave mutual-help attendance in a nationally representative US sample.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- Personal recovery for special populations: a qualitative study exploring the role of special interest meetings within 12-step fellowships.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Article
- Narcotics Anonymous attendees' perceptions and experiences of substitute behaviors in the Western Cape, South Africa.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2023Article
- Using daily diary methods to understand how college students in recovery use social support.Journal of substance abuse treatment · 2021Article
- RCT of a Telehealth Group-Based Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Multiple Sclerosis: eFIT.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2021Article
- Article
- "Personal recovery depends on NA unity": an exploratory study on recovery-supportive elements in Narcotics Anonymous Flanders.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2020Article
- Participant Evaluation of Twelve-Step Group Linkage for Jailed Women With Alcohol Use Disorder.International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology · 2019Article
- MECHANISMS OF BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN 12-STEP APPROACHES TO RECOVERY IN YOUNG ADULTS.Current addiction reports · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe "therapeutic alliance" between clinicians and patients has been associated with treatment response and outcomes in professionally-delivered psychotherapies. Although 12-step mutual help organizations (MHOs), such as Alcoholics Anonymous, are the most commonly sought source of support for individuals with substance use disorder (SUD), little is known about whether a stronger alliance in comparable MHO relationships between 12-step sponsors and those they help ("sponsees") confers benefits similar to those observed in professional contexts. Greater knowledge could inform clinical recommendations and enhance models that explain how individuals benefit from 12-step MHOs.
methodYoung adults (N=302) enrolled in a prospective, clinical effectiveness study of residential SUD treatment were assessed at treatment entry, and 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge on whether they had a sponsor, contact with a sponsor, and degree of sponsor alliance. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) tested their effects on 12-step MHO attendance, involvement, and percent days abstinent (PDA).
resultsApproximately two-thirds of the sample (n=208, 68.87%) reported having a sponsor at one or more follow-up time points. Both having sponsor contact and stronger sponsor alliance were significantly associated with greater 12-step participation and abstinence, on average, during follow-up. Interaction results revealed that more sponsor contact was associated with increasingly higher 12-step participation whereas stronger sponsor alliance was associated with increasingly greater abstinence.
conclusionsSimilar to the professional-clinical realm, the "therapeutic alliance" among sponsees and their sponsors predicts better substance use outcomes and may help augment explanatory models estimating effects of MHOs in SUD recovery.
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