Attitudes towards alcoholics anonymous by dually diagnosed psychiatric inpatients

Self-help programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) have been viewed as beneficial adjuncts to comprehensive treatment programs for the treatment of alcohol use disorders. The usefulness of such programs for individuals with dual psychiatric disorders has not been established. This study examined the alcohol and psychiatric treatment histories of 60 psychiatric inpatients with concomitant alcohol use or abuse with attention to the frequency and correlates with past AA attendance. Most subjects reported feeling comfortable with the basic tenets of AA; neither diagnosis nor gender was related to AA participation, belief in its basic tenets, or willingness to attend AA in the future. Regular, past attendance at AA was surprisingly high (37%) and was not different for individuals with schizophrenic spectrum disorders compared to those with other psychiatric disorders. The majority reported plans to attend AA as part of their outpatient treatment program. The potential benefits of AA for dual diagnosis individuals deserve further attention.