People who only participate virtually are three times more likely to report difficulties with maintaining abstinence, study finds.
Originally published in Philly Voice
Much of life went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic — work, school and even some doctor’s appointments. So did many support groups for people with alcohol use disorder.
But people who attended Alcoholic Anonymous, SMART Recovery, Women for Sobriety and other mutual-help groups in person were “significantly” more likely to maintain sobriety than people who participated in these groups only online, a recent study shows.
“Online meetings are convenient and widely available, so they could theoretically support many people who face barriers to in-person attendance, such as young people and rural populations,” Sarah Zemore, the study’s principal investigator, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, attending online meetings exclusively was associated with poorer outcomes.”
The study, led by researchers at Stanford University and the Alcohol Research Group, used data from more than 1,000 adults who took part in a previous study conducted between 2015 and 2021. It found that people who only attended mutual-help groups online were about half as likely to report that they had maintained their sobriety. At a three-month follow-up, people who attended only online were three times more likely to report problems with alcohol.
One of the reasons why people attending only online may have had worse outcomes may have been because they reported lower participation levels in the meetings, researchers said.
Nearly 28 million people in the United States have alcohol use disorder. They have trouble stopping or controlling their consumption of alcohol despite adverse effects on relationships, careers and overall health.
Two years ago, the World Health Organization declared that no level of drinking is safe – not even moderate drinking. In January, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory about alcohol consumption increasing the risk for seven types of cancer. He called for warning labels on alcohol about its carcinogenic risk.
Several medications are available to treat alcohol use disorder, including naltrexone, which helps decrease cravings and reduce the amount of alcohol consumed during drinking episodes. Therapy and group supports are also important parts of a full recovery program for alcohol use disorder.
