Has anyone done a study of support groups?
I find this an interesting phenomenon and one that has not gotten the recognition that it deserves. I suppose that in an informal sense support groups have always been around, but I am talking about the ones that gives themselves names and seek outsiders. I don’t know if AA is the first such group but I would think that it is among the first and certainly the best known. Although AA is international, I believe that support groups have caught on mostly in the U.S. Part of the reason for the lack of recognition is that most support groups exist for the mutual benefit of their members and do not seek outside recognition. Usually the members have not had any training, but share some particular problem.
It would be interesting to learn some more about support groups. How many are there? How many members do they have? How long do they tend to last? How successful are they? What characteristics do successful ones have? Which are the ones that have grown to the extent that they have multiple chapters?
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9 Answers
This one was published at JAMA
This one is on HIV patients with depression
both are obscure, but favorable. I tried to find a Cochrane meta-analysis. In general the meta analysis on similar issues have concluded that studies are weak, and flawed (other reference cant find right now). This appears to be an issue that has been difficult to study.
In my own opinion, anything done one-on-one is more devoted to a specific person, but there are some situations that are well observed and managed in a group. (Like marriage counseling.)
I don’t know about studies but I would imagine that we innately need support…we need people around us as a pre-requisite to a healthy life and mentality… I would imagine that this is probably why support groups help people so much – because they give you something that we all need on a regular basis… the empathy is so important… that really I imagine is the essential ingredient… you can be surrounded by people but without empathy you still feel alone.
Lots of people have done lots of studies about lots of support groups. That whole area is nothing but studies and more studies.
If you go to www.pubmed.gov and use those search terms, you will hit the jackpot.
Maybe we can form a support group for people who are studying support groups and then study it?
NA and AA do not have much recognition because we choose to keep ourselves out of the public eye, for fear that there will be a negative reputation placed on the group.
I doubt anyone will ever know how many members are in AA or NA. In my relatively small city in Louisiana there are more people than I can count, and new ones every week – and, unfortunately, people dropping out of the program because of relapse.
I imagine there are all kinds of support groups for pretty much everything. Regarding the specifics for each group such as group size and number, my guess is that they would all differ depending on how many people need support and how many groups are available. I think the ones that have grown to have multiple chapters are the support groups that target a widespread issues like alcoholism for example.
I know there have been studies done one the success of support groups versus the success rate of “doing it alone.” People who are part of a support group for quitting smoking or drinking, for example, are more likely to successfully quit than people who try to quit on their own. I’m not so sure about the success rates of one type of support group compared to another. (Like how many support group smokers quit smoking contrasted with how many support group alcoholics quit drinking.)
With respect to the treatment of bipolar disorder, support groups are considered a very effective treatment.
Kenneth Anderson reviews the available research evidence on pages 264–272 (How Effective is AA and 12 Step Treatment?) of his book “How to Change Your Drinking” (July, 2010). The findings depend largely on the research methods used, but none of the results are very good.
Research on the subject is also reviewed at http://www.baldwinresearch.com/
In spite of the discouraging findings, AA appears to help a small percentage of people.
It is highly dependent on the structure, leadership and the participants in the group. The data are all over the map.
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