Kepner Wayne, Humphreys Keith
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
Curr Addict Rep. 2025;12. doi: 10.1007/s40429-025-00635-w. Epub 2025 Feb 6.
Evaluate literature examining whether mutual help groups (MHGs) for illicit drug use disorders benefit participants.
Recent studies consistently show that MHG attendance and involvement predict reductions in drug use and addiction severity. More rigorous methodologies offer stronger evidence of effectiveness, but additional controlled trials are needed. Drug-focused MHG challenges include lower success rates of professionally-delivered interventions to facilitate participation compared to alcohol-focused MHGs, and stigma towards opioid agonist medications. Culturally-tailored MHG formats may benefit specific populations (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities). Non-12 step MHGs like SMART Recovery show promise, but research is limited. Online delivery formats positively affect retention.
Evidence on the benefits of MHGs for drug use disorders is encouraging but incomplete. MHG engagement may be enhanced by cultural adaptations and reduced stigma towards medications. Future research should focus on non-12 step MHGs, treatment integration, optimizing online formats, and understudied groups (e.g. Indigenous populations). Selection bias remains a challenge in evaluations of MHG effectiveness.
评估关于非法药物使用障碍互助小组（MHGs）是否对参与者有益的文献。
近期研究一致表明，参加和参与互助小组可预测药物使用减少及成瘾严重程度降低。更严格的方法提供了更强的有效性证据，但仍需要更多对照试验。以药物为重点的互助小组面临的挑战包括，与以酒精为重点的互助小组相比，专业提供的促进参与的干预措施成功率较低，以及对阿片类激动剂药物的污名化。文化定制的互助小组形式可能使特定人群（如少数族裔）受益。像SMART Recovery这样的非12步互助小组显示出前景，但研究有限。在线提供形式对留存率有积极影响。
关于互助小组对药物使用障碍益处的证据令人鼓舞但并不完整。文化适应和减少对药物的污名化可能会增强对互助小组的参与度。未来的研究应侧重于非12步互助小组、治疗整合、优化在线形式以及研究不足的群体（如原住民）。选择偏倚在互助小组有效性评估中仍然是一个挑战。
