Young Women Find Success Following Twelve Step Program
A recent study completed using data from the Hazelden Center showed positive results for young women who followed a Twelve Step program for substance abuse that offers mutual support, including meetings for those in the early stages of drug and alcohol treatment. Frequent attendance at these meetings promoted abstinence from drinking and drug abuse over a six month period after treatment.
Valerie J. Slaymaker, Ph.D., and Audrey A. Klein, Ph.D., focused on women ages 17 to 23. They compared the results of these 139 women with a sampling of 237 men that attended the same program during the same time period. The research showed that women were more successful than their male counterparts at following through with the Twelve Step program.
Young women make up a group that is understudied when it comes to substance abuse and treatment. Klein stated that women tend to suffer more neurological and physical abuse as a result of substance misuse. They are also more apt than men to have another mental disorder at the same time, according to an article in PR Newswire.
Overall, the research showed that attendance was the key to success in addiction recovery for these young women. This study was published in Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly magazine Issue 29.
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