Les Alcooliques anonymes s’avèrent une aide à de nombreuses personnes alcoolo-dépendantes mais restent controversés de par leur approche spirituelle. Il est peu probable que la seule approche spirituelle permette à tant de personnes de rester abstinentes et des mécanismes cognitivo-comportementaux, sociaux et motivationnels ont été avancés. La présente étude illustre dans un premier temps les parallèles entre les mécanismes en œuvre aux Alcooliques anonymes et les processus de changement tel que décrits dans le modèle transthéorique du changement. Ensuite, elle étudie à l’aide d’un questionnaire les mécanismes cognitivo-comportementaux, sociaux et motivationnels auprès d’une population de personnes abstinentes aux AA et met en évidence une amélioration thymique, des changements dans la gestion de l’affectivité négative et des relations interpersonnelles, une augmentation de l’auto-efficacité et des modifications de l’entourage social.

Alcoholics anonymous is a widespread mutual help group, which has helped many alcoholics to stay abstinent, but remains controversial due to the spiritual nature of its program. However, it is unlikely that the success of alcoholics anonymous in helping people with alcohol-related disorder remain sober is due solely to spiritual principles. Hence, the aim of the current study was to show that alcoholics anonymous mutual help groups activate mechanisms of action similar to those in cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing.

First, parallels were established between the transtheoretical model of change and the program of alcoholics anonymous to illustrate the mechanisms by which this mutual help group potentiates cognitive and behavioral changes in people with alcohol-related disorder. Then a questionnaire was used to investigate cognitive and behavioral mechanisms as well as social changes and modifications to depressive and anxious symptoms, in a sample of sober members of alcoholics anonymous.

Results show a notable improvement in the participants’ anxious and depressive symptomatology. In addition, positive changes to the management of negative affect and the management of personal relations were found. The self-efficacy score in this population was higher than that reported in previous studies, which suggests that members of alcoholics anonymous develop high self-efficacy, which can partly be explained by the cognitive, behavioral and social changes generated by the alcoholics’ anonymous program. Changes in the composition of the social environment were observed and showed an increase in the number of close friends as well as an increase in the number of abstinent people in the social circle of the participants in this sample.

This study shows that cognitive, behavioral and social factors contribute to the success of alcoholics anonymous in helping people with alcohol-related disorder stay sober. Hence, alcoholics anonymous mutual help groups can constitute a helpful addition to the maintenance of abstinence in individuals with alcohol-related disorder, during but especially, after professional treatment is completed.