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Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a world wide organization that is a social support group for people with a desire to quit alcohol. The primary purpose of the organization is to help its members stay sober and to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2010). It is not affiliated with or allied with any religion, sect, denomination, political viewpoint, any other organization or institution. It does not support or oppose any cause. It does not have any membership dues or charges any money for its services. It is supported primarily by voluntary contributions of its members.
The origins of AA can be traced back to another organization called Oxford Group in the early 20th century in the United States and Europe which was a religious movement emphasizing self improvement. In the early 1930's Alcoholics Anonymous was formed. June 10, 1935 is celebrated as the founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous. The hallmarks of AA are the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions (Butler, 2010). Practicing the Twelve Steps helps one quit alcohol and remain sober.
AA is not the only Twelve-Step program for recovering alcoholics, but it is the most widely known and available program of its type. Recently the Cochrane Database conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness of AA and other Twelve-Step programs (labeled Twelve Step Facilitation or TSF). Eight studies were included in the review, and, of these, three evaluated AA programs. The conclusions of this review were that "no experimental studies unequivocally demonstrated the effectiveness of AA or TSF approaches for reducing alcohol dependence or problem" (Ferri, Amato, & Davoli,...