The politics of belonging in Alcoholics Anonymous: A qualitative interview study

Abstract

A prevalent critique of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is that members must adopt an inflexible illness narrative, taking on an “alcoholic” identity and performing a set of practices to address this condition. Conversely, a small body of research suggests that, rather than comprising the uniform adoption of a rigid narrative, integration into AA is achieved by negotiating individual beliefs, values, and preferences with the AA model. To investigate such processes of negotiation, the current study aimed to explore the politics of belonging in AA. The study involved semi‐structured interviews with 15 AA members recruited from meetings across Sydney, Australia, and data were analyzed thematically. Findings illustrated how participants navigated the politics of inclusion/exclusion within AA. While some aspects of AA were found to be negotiable by participants, a non‐negotiable aspect of AA ideology that emerged was the axiom that “alcoholics” have no control over alcohol and therefore should maintain abstinence. Findings raise questions about how the politics of belonging in AA may shift over time following broader patterns of societal change.

Why stigma matters in addressing alcohol harm

“…Othering is especially evident in the context of representations of AUD as 'alcoholism' as particularly stigma-laden. For instance, the use of the term 'alcoholic' is associated with higher implicit and explicit stigma [38] and lower problem recognition [30], while resolving the stigma of an alcoholic identity in recovery contexts can be a complex process [23,39]. Thus, calls have been made to promote continuum understandings of AUD [40], which may ameliorate stigma by reducing a perceived fundamental difference between 'us' and 'them' [41,42] and increasing acceptability of drinking reduction goals as valid route to 'recovery' [27,28,43].…”

Self‐help/mutual aid groups for health and psychosocial problems: Key features and their perspectives in the 21st century

“…Particularly interesting studies on 12‐step groups continue into the 21st century. One such is the research by Glassman et al (2021) in AJCP which contributes to our understanding of how Alcoholics Anonymous work. More specifically, this is a particularly interesting and contemporary study that attempts to delve deeper into the concept of belonging, discussed in the field of self‐help/mutual aid.…”

“A place where I am always welcome”: A thematic analysis of what belonging to Alcoholics Anonymous means to its members

“…All analysis, inferences and discussion regarding the findings are driven by the content of this question. The inclusion of qualitative interviews would expand on this work to help researchers gain a deeper understanding of how member opinion is affected by criticisms of AA, such as its dated literature, lack of diversity, and rigidity toward an approach that has not been updated with contemporary knowledge since the 1930s (Kaskutas, 2009;Whitaker, 2019;Matsuzaka, 2018;Glassman et al, 2021).…”

“…Cohesion has also been described as a sense of 'we-ness,' where members feel like they belong (Stock Whitaker, 2001). An interesting observation here is that the traditions and main text representing the principles of AA are not generally considered inclusive (Glassman et al, 2021;Whitaker, 2019;Matsuzaka, 2018). Having been authored with a heavy Christian influence and male-gendered language at a time when groups were almost exclusively attended by white middle class Protestant men (Matsuzaka, 2018).…”