Here is some information from the most recent data set of the on line addiction research survey as of March 2015. As we have said, this data is very preliminary and we are not ready to start making any statements about what it might mean. However, we still find some of this to be very interesting to us. Maybe you will too.
DEMOGRAPHICS
More than two-thirds (71%) of all respondents were female. Nearly all respondents identified as white (92%) and not Hispanic (97%).
More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents had some education beyond high school.
Half of respondents (50%) are currently married or living with a Partner and 27 percent are divorced.
Two-thirds (66%) reported an annual income of less than $50,000.
The average age of respondents was 47 years old; the youngest respondent was 20, the oldest 80.
12-STEP PARTICIPATION
Men were more likely than women to report current involvement in a 12-step program – 60% of males vs. 53% of females.
Nearly 40 percent of those not currently involved in a 12-step program reported that they had never been in an addiction treatment program, compared to only 16 percent of those currently involved in a 12-step program.
Less than half of those not currently involved in a 12-step program reported having completely stopped using mood-altering substances since their most recent treatment, compared to two-thirds of those currently involved in a 12-step program.
THOUGHTS
So we will continue to wonder why this survey is predominated by responses from Caucasian women. The demographics are skewed toward older, educated and more affluent and although we have some ideas, we still really don’t know why exactly. It is not too surprising that you are more likely to have attended AA if you went to treatment. What is most intriguing from this last point is that almost half of those “not currently involved in 12-step program have “completely stopped using”. The how and why of that result will probably be a part of our future research.
President of ARF Steve Moore, LCSW, PIP
