Women in AA: "Sharing Experience, Strength and Hope" The Relational Nature of Spirituality

This article examines how specific practices within Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) assist women to develop an understanding of spirituality that promotes and sustains sobriety. AA's conceptualization of alcoholism as an illness that only a spiritual awakening can conquer seems outdated and irrelevan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of religion & spirituality in social work Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 89 - 112
Main Author Bradley, Carolyn A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Binghamton, NY Taylor & Francis Group 01.04.2011
Haworth Press
Subjects
Addiction
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholism
Christianity
Contemporary period
Females
General subjects
History and sciences of religions
Illness
recovery
Religiosity
Spirituality
Sponsorship
women
women's emotional development
Sponsorship
Spirituality
Alcoholism
Alcoholics Anonymous
women's emotional development
recovery
Woman
women
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Summary:This article examines how specific practices within Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) assist women to develop an understanding of spirituality that promotes and sustains sobriety. AA's conceptualization of alcoholism as an illness that only a spiritual awakening can conquer seems outdated and irrelevant to many especially with the pharmacological advances that have been made in the addiction recovery field ( Sanders, 2006 ). Using data from a qualitative exploratory study of women's experiences in AA, this paper reports that for some women in the program it is the spirituality learned and experienced through the relationship of sponsorship that has allowed them to achieve sobriety ( Sanders, 2006 ).
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
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ISSN:1542-6432
1542-6440
DOI:10.1080/15426432.2011.567111