Alcoholics Anonymous As A Mutual-Help

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Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) boasts an estimated global membership of two million. This collaborative study provides a comprehensive examination of AA as a social movement, belief system, model for small group interactions, and an international phenomenon. Its success demonstrates that a program developed in 1930s middle-class North America can be adapted across diverse cultural contexts, from the slums of Mexico City to factory towns in Poland and farm villages in Switzerland. The authors explore the dynamics of AA meetings, member interactions, and how the AA model aligns with various cultural traditions. The book covers AA's early history, organizational principles, international growth, and current structure, finances, and membership. It emphasizes the relationship between belief and action within AA, the significance of written and oral traditions in belief transmission, and cultural variations in the belief system's content. As a mutual-help movement, AA is contrasted with professional health care and other mutual-aid organizations. The study utilizes extensive data, including surveys, observations, member interviews, and unpublished documents from countries like Austria, Finland, Iceland, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. The authors analyze AA’s guidelines as an innovative framework for non-hierarchical social structures, suggesting it may serve as a prototype for emerging social forms.