Hitting Bottom: Help Seeking Among Alcoholics Anonymous Members

Abstract

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members' self-reports ( N = 263) of "hitting bottom" and seeking help were analyzed using 1-way analysis of variance and chi-square analyses of 23 dependent variables. AA members self-identified a range of bottoms: high-bottom (36.1%), middle (44.5%), and low (19.4%). Whites were 2.4 times more likely than non-Whites to identify as high-bottoms. Lower bottoms were associated with multidrug use, constant drinking, and alcohol-related problems. High bottoms more likely entered AA via member introduction, and low bottoms more likely entered via court order. These findings indicate that individuals who are alcohol dependent might be helped earlier by identifying the initiation or acceleration of their substance use and facilitating relationships with those already in AA.

Leaving the World of Hate

“…Although previous studies found that incarceration reinforced continued involvement in criminal behavior (Burnett & Maruna, 2004; Farrall & Calverley, 2006), we found that incarceration along with various other factors provided several participants a source of motivation toward exit (Horgan, 2009). Much like former alcoholics who experienced “hitting rock bottom” (Greil & Rudy, 1983, p. 8; see also Young, 2011) before deciding to take action toward change, some members of our sample came to see prison as a direct consequence of hate group involvement and solid evidence they had reached their lowest point. Incarceration and other contact with law enforcement may have provided a dramatic illustration that involvement is a “dead end” and thus may be especially powerful in terms of “crystallizing discontent” (Paternoster & Bushway, 2009) and spurring disillusionment.…”

Religiously Motivated Desistance

“…In sum, for Paternoster and Bushway, desistance comes about due to the active cognitive agency of desisters thinking about their futures, weighing out costs and benefits of deviance against a future self, and ultimately making a clean break with the past. Three markers of identity change highlighted by Paternoster and Bushway are (a) crystallization of discontent, (b) changes in institutional/social relationships, and (c) a “break from the past” as key markers in redefining self (see also Young, 2011).…”

Al-Anon Family Groups: Origins, Conceptual Basis, Outcomes, and Research Opportunities

“…Effective strategies might parallel those that have been found to be effective to facilitate help seeking by people with addictions-namely, motivational interviewing and arranging contact with people already in 12-step recovery (Timko & DeBenedetti, 2007;Young, 2011). Effective strategies might parallel those that have been found to be effective to facilitate help seeking by people with addictions-namely, motivational interviewing and arranging contact with people already in 12-step recovery (Timko & DeBenedetti, 2007;Young, 2011).…”