The participants answered SADQ-C questions in regard to their times of heaviest drinking in the past. Recall bias may have affected the SADQ-C scores, especially since the average time of sobriety for sponsors was 11 years. The content analysis identified 16 roles set forth by the sponsors, and the researchers broke these down into 3 primary or super-ordinate roles: 1. Interestingly, the researchers noted that sponsors had high scores on the SADQ-C affective withdrawal symptoms subscale but relatively low scores on other subscales.
It is possible that AA members have unusually strong affective responses to life events, and this may be one explanation for the need for ongoing support through meetings.
The researchers would like to continue this line of research and examine how AA members learn to become sponsors, how sponsorship styles differ, and how advice-giving differs among sponsors. Interested in an alternative to 12 step programs? Learn more about our non 12 step addiction treatment services. The role of AA sponsors: a pilot study.
Alcohol and Alcoholism. This site uses cookies to track visits and help us better serve our visitors. Responses were separated into statements and coded line-by-line so that emerging themes could be identified. All roles identified through this analysis were listed. Thereafter, overlapping themes were linked by identifying common nodes points of connection and were reported as super-ordinate roles.
A triangulation method was applied to the thematic analysis: a colleague of the first author conducted an independent content analysis of the responses, and any points of disagreement were discussed. Finally, a member validation method was used—the research report was sent to two selected sponsors and amendments were made based on their comments.
Thirty-eight sponsors were approached. Two did not meet the eligibility criteria one was currently drinking and another was not regularly attending AA. Thirty-six sponsors who initially agreed to consider participation were sent the study's introduction pack.
Eight sponsors failed to respond following two attempts to contact them via an invitation letter, email or telephone call. Thus, a total of 28 sponsors completed the questionnaire or interview 21 by email, 6 by post and 1 via telephone interview.
As this was primarily a qualitative study, random sampling was not used. We were cautious when interpreting descriptive and analytical statistics, as the sponsors included may not be a representative group. The median age was 43 [interquartile range IQR 17, range 33—73].
The median length of AA attendance was 9. There was a wide range 0—17, IQR 3. The sponsors scored highly on the AAAS median 8. To put this in context, a previous study reported a mean AAAS score of 2.
The median length of sobriety of the sample was 11 years IQR 8. One sponsor did not answer this question. The median duration of heavy drinking was 12 years IQR 14, range 3— The average daily consumption of alcohol UK units by sponsors at the peak of their drinking. However, scores for affective withdrawal symptoms were higher median 9, IQR 5. Sixteen sponsorship roles were identified through the initial content analysis. These are listed in Figure 2 , ranked by frequency of response.
Data saturation occurred after sponsor 25, i. Three super-ordinate roles were created by categorizing the roles identified during the initial analysis into themes by linking nodes in common. These roles, working the programme of AA, support, and carrying the message of AA, will be discussed in turn.
The most important role of a sponsor is to encourage their sponsee s to work the programme of AA, which comprises the following core activities. The most important thing is taking [sponsees] through the steps, not telling them how to do them but what the meaning behind them is. This involves reading [AA literature], discussing and understanding. The sponsors regarded encouraging their sponsees to attend meetings as one of their main roles.
However, none commented specifically on how often they thought that their sponsees should attend meetings. The mean number of meetings the sponsors themselves had attended in the previous year was SD 66, range 20— , an average of just over 2 per week.
Doing service is voluntary but it is embedded in AA culture and is considered helpful both to the recovery of the individual member and to AA as a whole. Service positions include being involved in the running of a meeting e. The second most common super-ordinate role was support giving. The support offered by sponsors can be broken down into two broad types.
The first is of an emotional nature, which is especially important in the sponsee's early days of recovery and during periods of difficult life events, such as a divorce.
To offer empathy and support through difficult times, helping the person to know that they are not alone. Secondly, practical support is provided around AA-related issues. This ties in with the previous super-ordinate role of working the programme of AA. A number of sponsors recognized that sponsees may have issues that were not directly related to AA, such as co-morbid mental health problems, and indicated that they would encourage their sponsee to seek help from other appropriate sources outside of AA, such as a doctor or a counsellor, if they had done so themselves.
I think it is important to note that a skilful sponsor will also know when to recognize that a sponsee has problems outside their own sphere of experience and encourage the sponsee to get help from another source if required.
This may be another AA member or help outside of AA if required. Another theme to emerge from the data was that AA meetings were not an appropriate environment to share problems of a particularly personal nature, for example sexual problems. A benefit of sponsorship is that such issues can be discussed in a more confidential way.
The need to develop their sponsee's trust was an important role identified by the sponsors. This connected with the lower-order theme of being non-judgmental. Finally, a number of participants recognized that the role of sponsorship changed over time as the sponsee developed a longer period of sobriety, often growing into a genuine friendship.
Five sponsors identified friendship as a primary role. According to the AA literature, this involves sponsors sharing their experience of alcoholism and recovery with their sponsees, but doing so within the framework of AA principles rather than adopting a personal viewpoint. The concept of propagating AA for the benefit of other alcoholics is embedded in the final step of the programme, step 12, i. Although not a requisite of the final step, the AA member may, in turn, become a sponsor.
Carrying the message included the lower-order role of advice giving. As might be expected, a sponsor relating their own experience of recovery and doing the programme of AA will often venture into the territory of giving advice to a sponsee, or a sponsee will seek their sponsor's opinion on an issue. The role of advice giving was the only theme for which differing, and sometimes contradictory, responses were provided by sponsors.
The various viewpoints taken by sponsors in the domain of advice giving are described in Table 1. A number of sponsors were of the view that the message of AA should be delivered gently to sponsees. One member admitted to having been a controlling sponsor initially but now recognized that this was the wrong approach. I told everyone exactly what to do and fired them [i.
Despite the use of a non-random sampling method, the sponsors were representative of AA members in general in terms of age and ethnicity. Whether the sample is representative of AA sponsors as a whole is unknown as there are no previous studies describing the characteristics of sponsors.
Caution is needed in interpreting these comparative data as the AA membership survey covers members in North America only and our sample comprised UK sponsors. The number of sponsors who had active sponsees was lower than we expected. The average number was one per sponsor but there was a wide range 0— Despite the fact that all the respondents had been a sponsor in the past, 11 had no current sponsee this was, in fact, the modal number.
It is probable though that there are fewer sponsors than sponsees. In addition, it is likely that sponsees change sponsors over time, which may account for the low number of currently active sponsors in this sample. The average severity of past alcohol dependence of the sample was less than we expected. For example, in a study by Harris et al. There are a number of potential explanations for this discrepancy. First, we did not ask whether the sponsors had ever received treatment for alcoholism and it is unfair to compare a treatment sample, especially an inpatient detoxification one, with a community sample.
If your gut allows you to trust someone with all the other qualities of a good AA sponsor, then he or she is likely a good choice of an AA sponsor for you.
If someone is asking you to be his or her AA sponsor, before saying yes, you should make sure that you have what it takes to be a good AA sponsor. Below are some ways that you can be a good AA sponsor.
To learn how to be a good AA sponsor, you must first learn how to be even-tempered. Being even-tempered is important as an AA sponsor because you will be the listening ears to a vulnerable recovering alcoholic.
To be a good AA sponsor, you must be stable in your own sobriety. Thus, you should have at least one year of sobriety under your belt. Good AA sponsors have also been attending step AA meetings for quite some time and fully understand the step program. By having such extensive knowledge of the AA step program, you will be able to guide someone else through the program.
Thus, prior to learning how to be a good AA sponsor, you must have a genuine desire to do so. AA sponsors should never enter romantic relationships with their sponsees. Good AA sponsors are always available to communicate with their sponsees. Much of what an AA sponsor does is listen to their sponsees. Thus, good AA sponsors are good listeners.
Good AA sponsors are invested in the progress that their sponsees are making in their addiction recovery. As a result, good AA sponsors often push their sponsees to gain more perspectives about their journeys with addiction so that they can better understand their triggers and learn more ways to manage their addiction.
Some ways that good AA sponsors push their sponsees are by giving them AA literature to read or making them attend different AA group meetings.
While the AA step program is based on some holistic spiritual values , good AA sponsors know not to take it any further and push their religious beliefs or personal views on life onto their sponsees.
Here at Discovery Institute, we know the value of AA sponsors. We also encourage the recovering addicts of our other drug detox and addiction treatment programs to find a sponsor or someone that they can lean on for support while in recovery. Here at Discovery Institute, we provide the highest quality clinical care through evidence-based practices.
Through such care, we help alcohol and drug addicts overcome their addictions. To learn more about Discovery Institute and the detox and addiction treatment programs that we offer, contact us today. Our compassionate treatment specialists are available 24 hours a day to take your call. I really believe that the structure program is working for me.
My experience here at Discovery Institute has been very valuable during my 90 day stay. I have learned more about myself and the importance of applying the tools Discovery has taught me once I leave. Without the treatment I received here it would have been much more difficult to uncover these fears I am now overcoming…With the help of caring counselors, I was challenged to work on some areas I struggled with.
I want to the my counselor for caring about my overall welfare. I have learned a lot from her. She never gave up on me but instead stuck by me until the end because she believed in me. Thank you Discovery Institute for your help. I am forever grateful and will keep all the staff and peers in my prayers and heart. I arrived at Discovery broken, scared and spiritually bankrupt hurt with an unfillable void. Sadly, I was at the end of my rope.
Today I am a better me than I ever was.
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