The success of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) program for non-Christian members is a source of cognitive dissonance for Christians. Where does the power to change come from for these individuals, since AA does not emphasize a personal relationship with Christ? This article proposes that the research data demonstrates that it is the alcoholic's change from an internal to an external locus of control (LOC) regarding his/her drinking behaviors which accounts for the success of the AA program. A dual LOC theory, one LOC for drinking behaviors and one LOC for life events in general, is proposed to explain some of the conflicting data in the research Additionally, some issues for integration and future research are presented.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AbbottM.W. (1984). Locus of control and treatment outcome in alcoholics. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 45, 46–52.
2.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1975). Living sober.New York: Author.
3.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1980). Alcoholics anonymous comes of age: A brief history of AA.New York: Author.
4.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1984a). The big book (3rd ed). New York: Author.
5.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1984b). “Pass it on”: The story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. message reached the world.New York: Author.
6.
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1984c). The twelve steps and the twelve traditions.New York: Author.
7.
BourneP.G., & FoxR. (1973). Alcoholism: Progress in research and treatment.New York: Academic Press.
8.
BrownS. (1985). Treating the alcoholic A developmental model of recovery.New York: John Wiley & Sons.
9.
ButtsS.V., & ChotlosJ. (1973). A comparison of alcoholics and non-alcoholics on perceived locus of control. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 34, 1327–1332.
10.
CostelloR.M., & MandersK.R. (1974). Locus of control and alcoholism. British Journal of Addiction, 69, 11–17.
11.
DistefanoM.K., PryerM.W., & GarrisonJ.L. (1972). Internal-external control among alcoholics. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 36–37.
12.
DonovanD.M., & O'LearyM.R. (1978). The drinking-related locus of control scale. Journal of Studies on Alcohol37, 759–784.
13.
DonovanM.E. (1984). A sociological analysis of commitment generation in alcoholics anonymous. British Journal of Addiction, 79, 411–418.
14.
FryL.J. (1985). Social thought, social movements and alcoholism Some implications of AA's linkages with other entities. Journal of Drug Issues, 15, 51–62.
15.
GanellenR.J., & BlaneyP.H. (1984). Stress, externality and depression. Journal of Personality, 52. 326–337.
GossA., & MoroskoT.E. (1970). Relation between a dimension of internal-external control and the MMPI with an alcoholic population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 189–192.
18.
GozaliI., & SloanJ. (1971). Control orientation as a personality dimension among alcoholics. Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 32, 159–161.
19.
LefcourtH.M. (1972). Internal versus external control of reinforcement revisited: Recent developments. In MaherB.A. (Ed.) Progress in experimental personality research (Vol. 6). New York: Academic Press.
20.
LefcourtH.M. (1976). Locus of control: Current trends in theory and research.Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
21.
LefcourtH.M., MartinR.A., & SalehW.E. (1984). Locus of control and social support: Interactive moderators of stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 378–389.
22.
LevensonH. (1974). Activism and powerful others: Distinctions within the concept of internal-external control. Journal of Personality Assessment, 38, 377–383.
23.
MayerW. (1983). Alcohol abuse and alcoholism: The psychologist's role in prevention research and treatment. American Psychologist, 1, 116–121.
24.
NaditchM.P. (1975). Locus of control and drinking behavior in a sample of men in Army basic training. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43, 96.
25.
NarramoreB. (1985). Unpublished presentation at the President's Colloquium, Biola University, La Mirada, CA.
26.
O'LearyM.R., DonovanD.M., HagueW.H., & SheaR.A. (1975). Shifts in component factors of locus of control as a function of treatment in male alcoholics. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 359–361.
27.
OzielL.J., ObitzF.W., & KeysonM. (1972). General and specific locus of control in alcoholics. Psychological Reports, 30, 957–958.
28.
PyleR. (1984). Locus of control as an outcome and predictor variable in the treatment of alcoholism (Doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, 1984). Dissertation Abstracts International, 44(11-B), 3511.
29.
RohsenowD.J., & O'LearyM.R. (1978). Locus of control research on alcoholic populations: A review. I. Development, scales, and treatment. International Journal of the Addictions, 13, 213–226.
30.
RotterJ.B. (1954). Social learning and clinical psychology.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
31.
RotterJ.B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80, Whole Number 609.
32.
RotterJ.B. (1975). Some problems and misconceptions related to the construct of internal versus external control of reinforcement. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 34, 226–228.
33.
RoyceJ.E. (1985). Sin or solace? Religious views on alcohol and alcoholism. Journal of Drug Issues, 15, 51–62.
34.
RozenskyR.H., & HonorL.F. (1984). Self-reinforcement, locus of reward and task maintenance, and alcoholism. Psychological Reports, 54, 151–155.
35.
WorellL., & TumiltyT.J. (1981). The measurement of locus of control among alcoholics. In LefcourtH. (Ed.) Research with the locus of control construct: Vol. 1. Assessment methods (pp. 321–333). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
