Alcoholics anonymous after treatment: attendance and abstinence.

Follow-up data on 900 inpatients at eight hospital-based chemical dependency treatment centers demonstrate a high correlation between total abstinence 6 months after discharge and weekly attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous during this period. Almost three-fourths (73%) of the regular attendees remained chemically free, compared with one-third (33%) of the nonattendees. These data suggest that Alcoholics Anonymous is an appropriate and beneficial aftercare for the majority of treatment inpatients.