Even if teens are not directly confronted by adults as “not being ready,” developmental and role differences from adults may make teens feel uncomfortable in groups that are composed largely of older adults (Kelly et al., 2005). Sixth, teen drug abusers tend to report a lower level of spiritual orientation than adults (Kelly & Myers, 2007; Solhkhah, Galanter, Dermatis, Daly, & Bunt, 2009). One may speculate that as one grows older and grapples with issues of mortality, spirituality becomes a more salient issue. Finally, teen alcohol and other drug abusers simply may experience structural barriers such as transportation problems, which deter being able to attend (preferred) meetings (Kelly & Myers, 2007; Kelly et al., 2008).
Who Can Join NA Meetings?
This step asks you to apply these principles to every aspect of your life and carry them forward to help others struggling with addiction as well. This step involves praying or employing https://sober-home.org/ other spiritual or mindfulness techniques. It can be both humbling and empowering to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and ask for assistance in dealing with your flaws.
What Are the 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous?
- Novel solutions to increase teen participation in AA/NA may need to consider enhancing perceived benefits to participation among teens, clarifying or maximizing perceived severity of negative drug use consequences, and minimizing barriers to participation.
- Once a new attendee is familiar with the structure of NA and has established a relationship with the group, he or she can start looking for a sponsor.
- NA bases its 12 steps and 12 traditions on AA’s program and has a basic text known as Narcotics Anonymous.
- This step involves acknowledging the addiction and the damaging impact it has had on the individual’s life.
In only four studies did a minority group approach or surpass 20% representation in the sample (nos. 5, 7, 8, and 13, in Table 2). Although results of these four studies did not appear to vary as a function of ethnicity, more research is needed particularly in ethnically diverse or minority settings. While you might feel like the outsider or the newbie at first, give yourself time to get comfortable. If you aren’t ready to share, you can also benefit from simply listening and observing. The only rules in a meeting are that drugs and drug paraphernalia are not allowed. Also, cross-talk is discouraged, and members—particularly new attendees—are encouraged to listen while others speak openly.
The 12 Steps
When trying to choose AA vs NA, you might find it more appealing to call upon the help of a Higher Power and focus on alcohol as being the main issue if you’re an alcoholic. Or, you might decide that you need to focus on your addiction (to alcohol or to another substance) as a whole and concentrate on yourself as an individual first. Either way, both AA and NA are excellent programs that were created to foster success for those who are struggling with addictions.
A Rereview of Teen AA/NA Treatment-Related Outcomes
In NA, it reads, “We were powerless over our addiction.” Some people prefer to attend NA (even recovering alcoholics) because they would rather deal with their powerless over the “addiction”, rather than a “substance”. Some people in NA express that they are more apt to rely on themselves to overcome the “addiction” than rely on a Higher Power (as in AA) to overcome a “substance”. A new type of therapy, with the goal of getting people engaged in 12 step programs and reduce drop out, was developed in the 1990s as part of a large research project.
It has been found to be slightly more likely to result in continuous abstinence compared to other treatments. This may be because the goal of 12-step facilitation therapy is always abstinence, while other therapies may support a goal of controlled drinking or harm reduction for some heavy and dependent drinkers. From what we do know, success at maintaining abstinence is fairly low, even according to the fellowship’s own data. One AA study found only 27% of participants were alcohol-free for up to a year (73% relapse rate) and only 13% maintained abstinence for more than five years. These figures are best case because they only include people who were still members of AA, not people who dropped out of the program. Another analysis estimated a 5-10% success rate at best (90-95% relapse rate).
This article provides a review of 12-step programming among adolescents. I will refer to the 12-step programming as “AA/NA,” which are the two largest alcohol/drug/substance-related 12-step programs (as in Kelly & Myers, 2007). Next, I provide data on the extent of teen 12-step involvement in formal 12-step–related treatment and informal 12-step community-related settings. Then, I provide the results of a Web site search that examined teen treatment outcomes of 12-step–involved programming, following a previous review by Kelly and Myers (2007). Along with the data on overall outcomes of this programming, I provide information on the effects of AA/NA attendance on abstinence at follow-up, which youth tend to become involved in AA/NA, and mediation of the benefits of AA/NA participation. In the following sections, I suggest possible reasons for limited teen participation in AA/NA, and make suggestions to maximize the use of 12-step programming for teens.
There’s a good chance there’s an AA or NA meeting happening near right you now. Even small towns tend to have at least one daily AA or NA meeting, but you must find them. You can use the AA Resource Guide or the NA Find-a-Meeting Guide to find a 12 step meeting near you.
There are at least seven possible reasons for or interpretations this finding. First of all, even though there may be up to 2 million teens in the United States with alcohol or other drug problems, approximately 15% of the U.S. adult population or 45 million adults also have alcohol or other drug problems (Sussman & Ames, 2008). Because teens compose only 4% of the total alcohol or other drug abuser population, it is not that surprising that AA/NA attendance would be relatively low.
We know from other types of peer support, and anecdotally from people in recovery, this type of support is helpful and highly valued. Sometimes, Patterson notes, you may meet someone at a 12-step or SMART meeting who is simply attending these meetings and not getting professional treatment. NA is welcome to any person who thinks they’re addicted to substances and wants to change their life.
The total numbers of Web sites found in each search is shown in the Appendix. By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. If you attend one meeting and are not too sure about it, go to another one. Every meeting has its own atmosphere, and you might find yourself more comfortable in one group than another.
Instead, they may feel that the responsibility lies completely with them and that they need to, in a sense, get out of their own way if they’re ever going to be free from their addictions. For the NA member, once you’re able to accomplish that goal, there is room for the Higher Power (as you see it) to work in your life and help you work toward being clean. Another difference between AA and NA is the fact that one focuses on a legal substance (alcohol) and the other focuses on all substances, many of which are illegal. This difference tends to draw different types of people to each meeting.
For those who are trying to decide which approach works for them, they should consider that fact before choosing which program to attend. Considering the discussion above regarding correlates of AA/NA teen participation, and reasons for not participating, other novel means to motivate attendance might be examined. In thinking about new directions, I considered the Survey of Readiness for Alcoholics Anonymous (SYRAAP) literature by Kingree, Simpson, Thompson, McCrady, and Tonigan (2006) and Kingree, Simpson, Thompson, McCrady, Tonigan, and Lautenschlager (2007). This assessment device was found to predict AA participation (frequency of meeting attendance, involvement with AA activities and experiences) at a 6-month follow-up assessment among 217 adults (37% that were 18–29 years old at baseline). The measure consists of three factor components, each consisting of five items.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping recovering drug users. They are a community that meets regularly to help each other maintain sobriety. Measuring success regarding specific data is challenging because NA members are anonymous. This means an NA member might be sober during data collection, but relapse occurs weeks, months, or years later.
Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous both focus on community and sponsorship, in conjunction with the 12 steps, to help achieve this goal. They are not allied with any organizations or religions, and are not-for-profit. Both are self-supporting and altruistic fellowships and are open to anyone who thinks they may need help in overcoming their struggle with substance abuse. A https://sober-home.org/what-does-meth-look-like-forms-and-colors-of-meth/ variety of different means to increase teens’ involvement in AA/NA are already being attempted. First of all, there have been several attempts to create literature relevant to teens. For example, there exist sources that instruct teens that they can be alcoholics at their age (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, 1988; -life-in-recovery.com/teenagealcoholism.html, accessed on June 16, 2009).
