Power,Spirituality,and Time From a Feminist Perspective: Correlates of Sobriety in a Study of Sober Female Participants in Alcoholics Anonymous

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The social support network and spiritual orientation of Alcoholics Anonymous were significant predictors of the choice of this study's sample of 125 sober alcoholic women to actively participate in Alcoholics Anonymous for at least 1 year. Religious affiliation is another choice that a woman may make in seeking to know herself in sobriety.

OBJECTIVE: The first objective of these ancillary analyses was to determine whether either length of sobriety or number of weekly meetings attended was correlated to power as knowing participation in change, perceived social support, and spirituality. The second objective was to determine whether there was a difference in spirituality between women who actively participated in their religion and those who did not.

DESIGN: This correlational study was designed to explore relations among power as knowing participation in change, social support, spirituality, length of sobriety, and number of weekly meetings attended. These research questions were answered by using hierarchical multiple regressions and a t test.

RESULTS: The number of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings attended weekly contributed significantly to power and to spirituality. Length of sobriety was not correlated with any of the three major variables. Spirituality scores were also significantly higher for those who were actively involved in their religion than for those who were not.

CONCLUSIONS: The significant difference among the findings in the conceptualization of time emphasizes the needfor a continuing connection with a group ofpeers. Also, the role of organized religion in spiritual orientation was demonstrated.

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