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Twelve‐Step Groups, Attributions of Blame for Personal Sadness, Psychological Well‐Being, and the Moderating Role of Gender 1
Author(s) -
Kingree J. B.,
Thompson Martie
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02493.x
Subject(s) - blame , psychology , attribution , sadness , substance abuse , social psychology , clinical psychology , substance use , developmental psychology , psychiatry , anger
Two studies investigated links among 12‐step group participation, gender, attributions of blame for personal sadness, and psychological well‐being. Study I used a correlational design to examine these links cross‐sectionally among substance abusers who identified alcohol as their primary drug problem. Study 2 used an experimental design to examine prospective links among these variables for substance abusers who were also adult children of alcoholics. Females engaged in more blame than did males, and personal blame was negatively related to psychological well‐being in Studies 1 and 2. Most significantly, 12‐step group participation was associated with lower personal blame among females but not among males across both studies. These results indicate that 12‐step groups can reduce personal blame among females who have substance abuse problems.