Do changes in selfishness explain 12-step benefit? A prospective lagged analysis.

12-Step attendance is associated with increased abstinence. A strong claim made in 12-step literature is that alcoholics are pathologically selfish and that working the 12 steps reduces this selfishness, which, in turn, leads to sustained alcohol abstinence. This study tested this assumption by investigating the linkages between 12-step attendance, pathological narcissism, and drinking.