Narcotics Anonymous participation and changes in substance use and social support.
In Victoria (a southern Australian state) in 1995, Narcotics Anonymous had a small but growing membership providing an opportunity to study the early experience of new self-help members. Ninety-one new members were interviewed and 62 (68%) were reinterviewed after 12 months. Three measures of self-help participation were examined: service role involvement, step work, and stable meeting attendance. Lower prior involvement in treatment services and greater participation in self-help predicted subsequent self-help participation. Higher levels of secondary school education predicted service role involvement and longer periods in stable meeting attendance. Higher self-help participation through the 12 months prior to follow-up was associated with lower levels of hazardous alcohol use and higher emotional support at reinterview. Multivariate regression analysis suggested stable self-help meeting attendance and step work continued to predict reductions in hazardous alcohol use and improvements in social support, after controlling for a range of alternative predictors.
Centre for Adolescent Health, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Melbourne, 2 Gatehouse Street, Parkville 3052, Victoria, Australia. jwt@unimelb.edu.au
John Winston
JW
Toumbourou
Margaret
M
Hamilton
Alison
A
U'Ren
Pru
P
Stevens-Jones
Gordon
G
Storey
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012657:Self-Help Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012944:Social Support; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome