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Do changes in selfishness explain 12-step benefit? A prospective lagged analysis.
J Scott Tonigan1, Kristina Rynes, Radka Toscova
1Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM87106, USA. jtonigan@unm.ed
Attending 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) aids abstinence. However, this study found pathological narcissism doesn't explain AA's benefits for reducing drinking.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Addiction Research
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- 12-step literature posits that reducing pathological selfishness is key to alcohol abstinence.
- This study examines the relationship between 12-step attendance, pathological narcissism, and alcohol use.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that reduced pathological narcissism mediates the benefits of 12-step programs for alcohol abstinence.
- To investigate the association between 12-step attendance, pathological narcissism, and drinking outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 130 early Alcohol Anonymous (AA) affiliates with alcohol dependence and prior illicit drug use.
- Conducted interviews at intake and at 3, 6, and 9 months to assess AA attendance, pathological narcissism, and drinking intensity.
- Compared pathological narcissism levels to general population samples.
Main Results:
- High AA meeting attendance throughout follow-up predicted increased abstinence and reduced drinking intensity.
- Participants showed significantly higher pathological narcissism than the general population, which remained elevated.
- Pathological narcissism was not associated with AA attendance and did not predict abstinence or drinking intensity.
Conclusions:
- The findings do not support the hypothesis that reductions in pathological narcissism explain the benefits of 12-step programs for alcohol abstinence.
- An alternative explanation for the emphasis on selfishness in 12-step programs is suggested.
- Recommends using unobtrusive measures for selfishness in future addiction research.
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