Spiritual Awakening in Alcoholics Anonymous: Empirical Findings

Galanter, Marc; Dermatis, Helen; Sampson, Cristal

doi:10.1080/07347324.2014.907058

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This description of the nature of the Divine may augment PRC levels by creating secure, rather than tenuous, connections with a Higher Power. Indeed, many members of AA have described experiencing a gradual spiritual awakening, after which they reported a decreased use of substances; more commitment to AA, religion, and AA service; and less depression (Galanter, Dermatis, & Sampson, ). For clients who express an interest in the AA model, attending 12‐step meetings and working the program may be helpful in developing spiritual and religious coping strategies that serve to support them through negative life events, thus fostering a greater sense of PRC.…”

Section: Implications For Counselorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐Efficacy Among Adults in Substance Abuse Treatment: The Role of Religious Coping

Giordano

Prosek

Loseu

et al. 2016

J Addict Offender Couns

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Section: Implications For Counselorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐Efficacy Among Adults in Substance Abuse Treatment: The Role of Religious Coping

Giordano

Prosek

Loseu

et al. 2016

J Addict Offender Couns

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“…Certainly there appear to be some core parallels between Sikh frameworks and AA recovery experiences, for example the notion of "spiritual awakening" [40]. What seems to be important is that experiences of suffering and alleviation of suffering (and recovery) are neither solely psychological, spiritual, or cultural; they are many different things at once, for each individual and each group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing Sikh Spirituality in Recovery from Alcohol Addiction

Morjaria-Keval

Keval

2015

Religions

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This paper situates Sikh identity, spirituality, and recovery from alcohol addiction within a nexus of complex social, psychological, and cultural factors. The way in which affected people in Sikh communities in Britain are able to locate and utilize unofficial recovery trajectories, often successfully alleviating suffering, presents both academic research and service provision with potential puzzles. While Sikh communities have been long settled in the UK, there is still a dearth of extensive, multi-method, and analytically rich research investigating the role of spirituality and Sikh identity. We present existing models of recovery process and locate them against an individual psychological and sociological backdrop, so that through the use of spirituality, recovery along this route is interpreted as having both otherworldly as well as materially grounded formations. It is this duality, we argue, that is prominent socially, culturally, and psychologically as important in the recovery from addiction. The multi-factorial nature of this mechanism of change raises important questions for not only addiction recovery, but also notions of continuity and change in Sikh identity. We aim to contribute to this growing body of work in order to re-situate the role of spirituality and identity in alcohol addiction recovery.

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“…Findings reported here may also have utility relative to the role of members' experience of how belief in a Higher Power may operate in 12 Stepbased recovery. Research has already been carried out on issues of spirituality (4-6), craving (12,28), and depression (30) in that process. An understanding of the specifics of belief in God ("as we understood Him") may provide a better understanding of the 12 Step recovery process and other aspects of SUD recovery.…”

Section: Conclusion: Applicability In Clinical Care and In Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

An empirical study on the construct of “God” in the Twelve Step process

Galanter

White

Ziegler³

et al. 2020

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

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Background: The term God, included in 5 of the 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), self-designated spiritual fellowships, has not been studied empirically relative to members' experiences. A greater understanding of this can be clinically useful and can shed light on the 12 Step process of recovery. Objectives: To determine how NA members understand the 12-step concept "God as we understood Him" and the relationship between their understanding of God and the intensity of their craving and depressive symptoms." Methods: 450 (59% male) NA members completed a survey related to their experiences relative to their relationship with "God." The relationship among these variables and comparisons to the general population was analyzed. Craving and depressive symptoms were assessed by self-report. Results: 98% of the NA participants believe in God explicitly or some other higher power (vs 89% of a probability sample of the US population), 67% believe that God determines what happens to them some or all of the time (vs 48%), 78% (vs 28%) report hearing God talking to them "in their mind"; and 37% report that God talks to them "out loud." Acceptance of 12 Step God-related variables inversely predicted a significant portion of the variance of scores on craving (7.5%) and depression (13.5%). Conclusions: Respondents' understanding of God in NA varied considerably and was predictive of their depressive symptoms and craving intensity. These findings can serve as a basis for research into mechanisms underlying NA/AA recovery experiences and can also aid clinicians in how to employ these programs.

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Spiritual Awakening in Alcoholics Anonymous: Empirical Findings

Cited by 19 publications

References 26 publications

Self‐Efficacy Among Adults in Substance Abuse Treatment: The Role of Religious Coping

Self‐Efficacy Among Adults in Substance Abuse Treatment: The Role of Religious Coping

Reconstructing Sikh Spirituality in Recovery from Alcohol Addiction

An empirical study on the construct of “God” in the Twelve Step process

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