ArticleAddictive behaviors2020
Ambivalent attendees: Transitions in group affiliation among those who choose a 12-step alternative for addiction.
Article in Addictive behaviors, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Beyond Attendance: Social Anxiety and Psychiatric Concerns Predict Mutual-Help Group Involvement in a U.S. National Longitudinal Survey.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2026Article
- Second-wave mutual-help groups: Examining effectiveness for individuals with alcohol use disorders in the longitudinal, U.S. national PAL Study cohorts.The International journal on drug policy · 2026Article
- Mode of mutual-help group attendance: Predictors and outcomes in a US national longitudinal survey of adults with lifetime alcohol use disorder.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- One size doesn't fit all: a thematic analysis of interviews with people who have stopped participating in Narcotics Anonymous in Norway.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2020Article
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 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMutual-help alternatives for addiction are numerous, and research attests to the benefits of involvement in such alternatives. Yet, virtually nothing is known about affiliation patterns over time among 12-step alternatives. We investigated the patterns, correlates, and outcomes of transitions in affiliation (including changing groups and dropping out) within alternatives for alcohol problems.
methodsWe analyzed data from the Peer ALternatives for Addiction (PAL) Study, a longitudinal study comparing the nature and effectiveness of 12-step groups, WFS, LifeRing, and SMART (N = 647). First, using all data, we compared affiliation patterns over time across 12-step and 12-step alternative members at baseline. Second, analyzing exclusively 12-step alternative members at baseline, we compared baseline characteristics and 6-month outcomes of those who changed and dropped out of (vs. retained) their primary groups at 6 months.
resultsWhile drop-out rates were low, and similar, across groups, members of the alternatives were more likely (vs. 12-step) to change groups at 6 months, and transitioned predominantly to 12-step. Further, among the 12-step alternatives, both changing groups and dropping out was associated with lower group cohesion and satisfaction. Meanwhile, in multivariate analyses of 6-month outcomes, changing (vs. retaining) groups robustly predicted lower cohesion, higher negative affect, and lower quality of life, whereas dropping out was associated with lower odds of alcohol abstinence.
conclusionsWhile dropping out is known to be risky, changing groups is more common among the 12-step alternatives, and connotes risk of future problems that may be partially explained by dissatisfaction with the new group (usually 12-step).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.