12-Step Therapy and Women with and without Social Phobia: A Study of the Effectiveness of 12-Step Therapy to Facilitate AA Engagement.

Alcoholism treatment often encourages involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Little provision is made for women with social phobia (SP), who have been reported to have worse outcomes in twelve-step-facilitation (TSF) relative to cognitive behavioral therapy. This study examined whether SP moderated the effects of gender for these women in TSF. 133 SP alcoholics assigned to TSF (35 females and 98 males) in Project MATCH were compared to a non-SP control group. SP women drank earlier and more intensely than non-SP women and all males, had equivalent AA attendance and completion of Step 5, and were less likely to acquire a sponsor during TSF.