Recovery from alcohol problems with and without treatment: prevalence in two population surveys.
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OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of recovery from alcohol problems with and without treatment, including whether such recoveries involved abstinence or moderate drinking. METHODS. Data from two surveys of randomly selected adults in the general population were analyzed. Random-digit dialing was used to conduct telephone interviews with 11,634 and 1034 respondents. Respondents 20 years of age or older were categorized on the basis of drinking status and history. RESULTS. Both surveys found that most individuals (77.5% and 77.7%) who had recovered from an alcohol problem for 1 year or more did so without help or treatment. A sizable percentage (38% and 63%) also reported drinking moderately after resolving their problem. CONCLUSIONS. These two surveys are among the first to report prevalence rates for recovery from alcohol problems for treated and untreated individuals and for moderation and abstinence outcomes.
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Many individuals with SUD achieve longstanding remission, in many cases without any formal treatment.
“It is also well documented that many individuals with SUD achieve longstanding remission, in many cases without any formal treatment (see e.g., [27,30,38]).”
From Addiction as a brain disease revised: why it still matters, and the need for consilience (2021) · cites this paper as [30]
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- Authors
- Sobell, L. C., Cunningham, J. A., & Sobell, M. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Venue
- American Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- American Public Health Association
- Published
- 1996-07
- Volume
- 86
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 966-972
- ISSN
- 0090-0036 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-0048
- PMC
- PMC1380437
- OpenAlex
- W2051317063
- Cited by
- 426
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 23
- FWCI
- 13.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- American Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NSUWorks (Nova Southeastern University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (5r01aa008593-06)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA08593)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Alcohol Consumption and Health Effects
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- alcohol problems, prevalence, abstinence, moderate drinking, alcohol treatment, drinking status, alcohol use history
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Alcoholism, Canada, Convalescence, Female, Humans, Male, Ontario, Population Surveillance, Surveys and Questionnaires, Recurrence, Self Care, Prevalence, Treatment Outcome
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