title: Men and women who attend Al-Anon: gender differences in reasons for attendance, health status and personal functioning, and drinker characteristics.
abstract: Although Al-Anon Family Groups (Al-Anon) is the most common source of help for people concerned about someone else's drinking, only 16% of members are men. To identify gender differences, we compared demographics, reasons for attendance, health status, and personal functioning, and drinker characteristics of 174 men and women attending Al-Anon. Men and women were similar in most areas; however, some key differences emerged. Men reported better overall mental health than women, and described some differing concerns and drinker characteristics. With this information, healthcare providers may facilitate men's participation in Al-Anon by addressing their unique concerns and possible barriers to attendance.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychology, Florida State University , Tallahassee, Florida , USA.
authors.forename: Nicole A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Short
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cronkite
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moos
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Timko
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D000436:Alcoholics Anonymous; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Al-Anon Family Groups; alcohol use disorders; gender; men; mutual-help groups; women