Obvious benefits but hidden costs: A critical exploration of the impact of adopting the "master narrative" in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Introduction: New members of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) typically acquire a distinct "alcoholic" identity, including AA-specific understandings of their "alcoholism" and what it means to be in recovery. Although much qualitative research on AA has presented the experiences of members who have embraced this identity and have been wholly praising of AA, other theorists have been strongly critical of the organization, often arguing that it emulates a cult. To contribute towards reconciling these competing bodies of research, the current study aimed to critically explore the impact of adopting AA's master narrative.

The politics of belonging in Alcoholics Anonymous: A qualitative interview study.

A prevalent critique of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is that members must adopt an inflexible illness narrative, taking on an "alcoholic" identity and performing a set of practices to address this condition. Conversely, a small body of research suggests that, rather than comprising the uniform adoption of a rigid narrative, integration into AA is achieved by negotiating individual beliefs, values, and preferences with the AA model. To investigate such processes of negotiation, the current study aimed to explore the politics of belonging in AA.

A Critical Review of Qualitative Interview Studies with Alcoholics Anonymous Members.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a community-based NGO that supports people with alcohol misuse concerns to achieve and maintain abstinence. Qualitative methods are best suited to investigate individual experiences of recovery in AA, since this typically involves not only abstinence from alcohol but also the global psychological growth of the whole person. Despite this, the growing body of qualitative research exploring individual experiences in AA has yet to be collated.