Anxiety and self-esteem as a function of abstinence time among recovering addicts attending Narcotics Anonymous

Among 200 members of Narcotics Anonymous (NA), those who had been off drugs and in contact with NA for longer tended to have lower trait anxiety and higher self-esteem scores, the relationship in each case being approximately linear. Those abstinent for longer than about three years had levels of anxiety and self-esteem similar to those in a comparison group of 60 students.