Internal and External Resources Relied on by Established Twelve Step Fellowship Members for Their Recoveries.

Background: The Twelve Steps described by Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and Alcoholics Anonymous denote key aspects of how members can achieve abstinence from alcohol and other drugs. However, there are limited empirical findings on what long-term members rely on to support their ongoing recovery.Method: In order to clarify the members' reliance on those latter resources, we surveyed 2,293 long-term NA members through the internet on items they rely on for their recovery. They scored nine NA-related resources (e.g., their sponsor) and three non-NA institutional ones (e.g., a professional therapist).Results: Three factors accounted for 53.6% of the variance in the respondents' scores of the 12 items. We labeled them, with the percent of variance accorded, as NA-based social (24.9%) support, spiritual (17.8%) support, and outside professional (10.9%) help. While NA-based resources ranked highest, outside resources (a house of worship, a therapist, or medications for psychological distress) were scored by 75.4% of the respondents. Analysis by subgroups of respondents reflected the diversity of resources members draw on. The use of internet-based meetings during the COVID-19 period reflected the resilience of the NA format.Conclusion: Members of Twelve Step programs can be studied to shed light on options that they rely on for support for their ongoing recovery, both within the fellowships and outside them. Long-term members can apparently rely on resources inside the fellowship and simultaneously on professional ones, as well. These findings can be helpful for researchers in considering mechanisms that underlie long-term Twelve Step-related recovery and for clinicians in employing both these fellowships and outside resources as adjuncts to their professional care.

Virtual Twelve Step Meeting Attendance During the COVID-19 Period: A Study of Members of Narcotics Anonymous.

OBJECTIVES: Face-to-face meetings are key components of Twelve Step (TS) fellowships' support of members' abstinence. Home confinement during COVID-19 made this less feasible. Our objective was to ascertain whether a transition to virtual online meetings among TS members took place, and whether it was potentially effective. METHODS: Two thousand one hundred fifty-two long-standing USA members of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) were surveyed to ascertain their recovery-related experiences and their relation to the transition to virtual meetings. RESULTS: During the previous week (ie, 'during COVID-19') respondents attended more virtual meetings ( = 4.13[SD4.64]) than they had attended both face-to-face meetings before COVID-19 ( = 3.35[SD2.05]), and also face-to-face meetings during COVID-19 ( = 0.75[SD1.8]). Many of the meetings were accessed from sites remote from their homes (44.4%), even overseas (21.5%). The majority (64.9%) found virtual meetings at least as effective in promoting their abstinence as were face-to-face meetings, and 41.8% estimated the same for newcomers. A shorter period of antecedent abstinence from drugs and increased loneliness were associated with increased craving during the transition period. Relative to Whites, Black respondents were less distressed, with a lesser increase in craving, and currently attended more virtual meetings. Data provided by a national program reflected a large increase in virtual TS attendance since the onset of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: In a survey of well-established NA members, most had made a successful transition from face-to-face to virtual meetings, relative to their antecedent characteristics. This successful transition suggests the possibility of an enhanced opportunity for stabilizing TS membership.