Spirituality-Based Recovery From Drug Addiction in the Twelve-Step Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous

Background: Narcotics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship that employs the Twelve-Step model for members dependent on drugs of abuse. The spiritual orientation of its program of abstinence has not been subjected to empirical study. Methods: Responses of 527 American Narcotics Anonymous meetingattendeestoastructuredquestionnairewereevaluatedfortheroles of cognitive and psychosocial aspects of spirituality in their recovery. Results: Respondents had last used drugs or alcohol on average 6.1 years previously. They were found to be more oriented toward a spiritualthanaformallyreligiousorientationthanprobabilitysamples of the general population. Aspects of membership such as affiliation towardothermembersandtheexperienceofspiritualawakeningwere associated with lower rates of drug or alcohol craving, whereas scores on depression were associated with higher craving scores. Conclusions: Spiritual renewal combined with an abstinenceoriented regimen in the Narcotics Anonymous social context can play a role in long-term recovery from drug addiction.