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A Sociocultural History of Alcoholics Anonymous

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Recent Developments in Alcoholism

Part of the book series: Recent Developments in Alcoholism ((RDIA,volume 7))

Abstract

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has not only helped numerous alcoholics, it has also influenced the current generation’s view of, and response to, the alcoholic. This chapter describes the emergence of AA and analyzes its successful growth. During the period of reduced alternatives for helping the alcoholic, AA began and soon flourished, helped by favorable publicity, committed members, and AA publications. We argue that its founder, Bill W., played a crucial role as a charismatic leader and that AA found a unique organizational solution to the problem of charismatic succession, a solution that helped AA maintain growth and stability beyond the life of its founder. This chapter also reviews the social response to AA including early research on AA, the generally favorable response to AA, criticism of AA, and the widespread imitation of AA by other problem area groups.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organizational Behavior, New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853, USA

    Harrison M. Trice

  2. Social Sciences Division, Eureka College, Eureka, Illinois, 61530, USA

    William J. Staudenmeier Jr.

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  1. Harrison M. Trice
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  2. William J. Staudenmeier Jr.
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Marc Galanter

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© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Trice, H.M., Staudenmeier, W.J. (1989). A Sociocultural History of Alcoholics Anonymous. In: Galanter, M. (eds) Recent Developments in Alcoholism. Recent Developments in Alcoholism, vol 7. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1678-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1678-5_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1680-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1678-5

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