An Exploratory Investigation of the Alcoholics Anonymous Sponsor: Qualities, Characteristics, and Their Perceived Importance
Year: 2013
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Sponsorship is considered a critical element of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) recovery paradigm. Adult individuals (Mean age = 41.0 years) participated in a study to investigate the qualities and characteristics that make for an effective sponsor. These individuals (N = 231) had either experience as a sponsee or had been sponsors (n = 109). The study included three major analytical tasks: a qualitative open ended question on characteristics, a choice and ranking exercise of 20 attributes, and a conjoint analysis of hypothetical sponsors differing on five attributes across three levels. Results suggest current engagement in AA is the most critical attribute along with such characteristics as trustworthiness, integrity, and confidentiality. Availability also ranked high. These findings point to several paths for future research including measurement development and longitudinal effects of sponsorship on recovery trajectories.
Author: Ed Stevens
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W589244101