ArticleAlcohol, clinical & experimental research2023
Who affiliates with SMART recovery? A comparison of individuals attending SMART recovery, alcoholics anonymous, both, or neither.
Article in Alcohol, clinical & experimental research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- 'It Takes a Village': Sociocultural Insights From a Qualitative Study on Strategies for Member Engagement and Participation in SMART Recovery.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Development and Pilot Test of a Novel Digital Social Support Intervention for Reducing Hazardous Alcohol Use.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Effects of participation in a large, online community for substance use disorder recovery: A naturalistic, longitudinal study.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 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
- Role of peer support in mitigating PTSD and suicide risk among firefighters experiencing colleagues' death.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Mutual Help Groups for Illicit Drug Use Disorders: A Review of the Current Literature.Current addiction reports · 2025Article
- The use of online methods to recruit and follow a hard-to-reach population in the Peer Alternatives for Addiction Study 2021 Cohort.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Article
- A systematic qualitative study investigating why individuals attend, and what they like, dislike, and find most helpful about, smart recovery, alcoholics anonymous, both, or neither.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMutual-help organizations (MHOs) play a crucial role for many individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) or other substance use disorders in achieving stable remission. While there is now substantial research characterizing who uses 12-step MHOs, very little is known about who becomes affiliated with newer and rapidly growing MHOs, such as Self-Management and Recovery Training ("SMART" Recovery). More research could inform knowledge regarding who may be best engaged by these differing pathways.
methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of participants (N = 361) with AUD recruited mostly from the community who were starting a new recovery attempt and self-selected into one of four different recovery paths: (1) SMART Recovery ("SMART-only"; n = 75); (2) Alcoholics Anonymous ("AA-only"; n = 73); (3) Both SMART and AA ("Both"; n = 53); and (4) Neither SMART nor AA ("Neither"; n = 160). We compared the groups on demographics, clinical history, treatment and recovery support service use, and indices of functioning and well-being. We computed descriptives and conducted inferential analyses according to the data structure.
resultsCompared to study participants choosing AA-only or Both, SMART-only participants were more likely to be White, married, have higher income and more education, be full-time employed, and evince a pattern of lower clinical severity characterized by less lifetime and recent treatment and recovery support services usage, lower alcohol use intensity and fewer consequences, and less legal involvement. AUD symptom levels, lifetime psychiatric diagnoses, psychiatric distress, and functioning were similar across MHO-engaged groups.
conclusionSMART Recovery appears to attract individuals with greater psychosocial stability and economic advantage and less severe histories of alcohol-related impairment and legal involvement. Findings suggest that certain aspects specific to the SMART Recovery group approach, format, and/or contents may appeal to individuals exhibiting this type of profile. As such, SMART appears to provide an additional resource that expands the repertoire of options for individuals with AUD who seek recovery.
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