Resocialization can occur among adults when life events put someone in a position where their typical roles and ideals are jeopardized. Resociolization, or acquiring new social values and norms, occurs when current and normative roles are significantly altered or replaced by environmental factors in adults (Sherry and Best, 2007). These individuals can adjust when placed in resociolization programs. However, the new information and experiences gained during resociolization may conflict with their prior knowledge and experiences (Fein, 2009; Sherry and Best, 2007). Resociolization is either voluntary for instance when one joins the military or involuntary in a case of losing a loved one. Resociolization can be achieved through total or near total institution. A total institution is a case where the individual is immersed completely into the programs aimed at altering their behaviors to the desired one to allow them live again in the society and their day-to-day life is controlled through an authority (Feldman, 2010). These institutions include; prisons, military, rehabilitation centers for drug abusers among others.
Alcoholics’ Anonymous (AA) website: http://www.alcoholicsanonymous.ie/
Alcoholics’ Anonymous commonly shortened as AA is a program for men and women who have common experiences and interests. In the program, these women and men share their strengths, weaknesses, and hope. They together believe that they change their common problem of alcoholism and also help others who experience the same problems of alcoholism to change and become once again important people in their societies and families. The program, therefore, is that which particularly bring the alcohol addicts together and through the togetherness, they look for better ways of changing their situations to a more benefiting one not only to them but also to the rest who have not yet got out of the chains of alcoholism.
In this program, the only requirement that one is expected to have is the desire and the urge to stop drinking alcohol. Other factors such as age, finances, marital status, and education among others do not matter. There are no fees paid for membership since the program is self-supporting through the contributions from the program members. In addition, AA program is not affiliated any political grouping or party, religion, denomination, organization, institution, or any sect. through their website, they have affirmed that they are not willing to join any of the above mentioned.
The AA has its history going back to 1935, when a recovering alcoholic then, Bill Wilson, created it. Wilson was so addicted to alcoholism that he could not even perform at his workplace. This led to him being taken to the hospital several times. His friends including Ebby Thacher tried helping him. Ebby was Wilson’s childhood drinking friend although he had sought recovery from a faith-based organization. Another person who played a key role in changing Wilson’s life was Dr. William Duncan who was a Town Hospital doctor located in the City of New York. Through all these unfolding, Wilson and his friend, Ebby teamed up and formed an organization known as Alcoholics Anonymous although some believe it was initially a branch of Oxford Group, the faith-based organization which helped Ebby to recover from alcoholism.
The main goal of this program is to help alcoholics to achieve sobriety and also to reach out to other alcoholics who have not yet joined the program so that they can also benefit by achieving sobriety.
Since the birth of AA in the 1930s, it has achieved great growth and several changes. The program advocates for stoppage of alcohol consumption. It focuses more o the moral growth of individuals and personality change. In the AA program, “The twelve Steps” are very important and they form a very crucial part of the programs. Part of the AA’s programs is dedicated to helping the non-members also to quit alcoholism and regain their real self. Members who have been in the program and have achieved sobriety are always encouraged to sponsor other new members also to achieve normality in character and personality through quitting alcohol. The most important tool for the AA program is the moral support that occurs there.
1. Step1: Admitting that one’s life is powerless and unmanageable under alcohol. At AA, once an individual has admitted that they need help to stop alcohol, the process of recovery begins.
2. Step2: believing that some greater power than humans can restore an addict back to sanity. AA encourages the alcoholics to depend on some higher power than them (God) to be restored back to sanity.
3. Step3: Deciding to turn the life over to God for care. The alcoholic is expected to submit to God or any other power they believe into, and through this, there is always recovery.
4. Step4: Doing self-examination to search a person’s own life about the morals they possess. Honesty is very important in this step.
5. Step5: Admitting to God and other people the nature of wrongs such as the past poor behaviors of alcoholism.
6. Step6: Being ready to have the higher power (God) remove all the sins committed during the duration of alcoholism.
7. Step7: Asking God with humility to remove the shortcomings in the lives of the alcoholics.
8. Step8: Making a list of the people wronged during the period of alcoholism and the kinds of wrongs done to them such as stealing from them, buying them more alcohol, and even backbiting behind their backs.
9. Step9: Making adjustments to such individuals and in this case, sponsors are the best people to make such adjustments.
10. Step10: requires the candidate of the program to continuously monitor their behaviors particularly those which can be detrimental to them and others in the program and take an inventory. Whenever they are wrong, the candidates are expected to admit it and take a step to correct.
11. Step11: Help is sought trough praying and meditating. The contact with God is improved and His knowledge sought to be able to make it out
12. Step12: After receiving the spiritual awakening, the message is carried and applied in every day’s affairs. The step is that which encourages members to also help others recover, for instance through becoming their sponsors.
Program Assessment and New Ideas Based on Current Research
AA program initiatives are very effective in ensuring that the addicts are given ample ground to recover from the menace of alcoholism. AA is a faith-based program which helps the alcohol addicts recover by employing the 12 steps of recovery. However, the only difference from other suggestions is that whereas rehabilitation requires flexibility, AA only puts the alcoholics under fixed twelve steps. It is understood that people’s needs are varying and not all people can respond the same way when subjected to the same conditions (Aakvik, Heckman, and Vytlacil, 2005). Other areas where AA exhibits strengths are the various types of meetings it has in the program. Alcoholics are allowed to have forums where they can both share their views in open meetings and when a need arises, a closed meeting is arranged. AA only targets alcohol addicts and not all drug addicts. Although people are allowed to attend the meetings, they can only attend the open meetings. Closed door meetings are only for the alcoholics themselves. Based on the current program that AA runs, there are several gaps which need to be fixed for the higher effectiveness of the program. For example, the program should not be limited to alcoholics alone. It should be understood that alcoholism and the rest of the abused drugs are very closely related (McLellan et al., 2008). Being inclusive in such a way that even rehabilitation for the other drugs, not alcohol is included would be very effective in reducing the cases of relapse. Secondly, the program should look for a way of partnering with other agencies to obtain funding which can help in a smooth execution of their activities. Rehabilitation centers or programs should be in partnership with either governmental or non-governmental agencies which can offer financial or technical support.
Among the adults, resocialization can take place in a situation where life circumstances place an individual at a position where their normal roles values are compromised. Alcoholics’ Anonymous commonly shortened as AA is a program for men and women who have common experiences and interests. In the program, these women and men share their strengths, weaknesses, and hope. Since the birth of AA in the 1930s, it has achieved great growth and several changes. The program advocates for stoppage of alcohol consumption. AA program initiatives are very effective in ensuring that the addicts are given ample ground to recover from the menace of alcoholism. AA is a faith-based program which helps the alcohol addicts recover by employing the 12 steps of recovery.
Aakvik, A., Heckman, J. J., & Vytlacil, E. J. (2005). Estimating treatment effects for discrete outcomes when responses to treatment vary: an application to Norwegian vocational rehabilitation programs. Journal of Econometrics, 125(1), 15-51.
Fein, M. L. (2009). Role change: A resocialization perspective. Praeger Publishers.
Feldman, D. C. (2010). Socialization, resocialization, and training: Reframing the research agenda
McLellan, A. T., Luborsky, L., Woody, G. E., O’Brien, C. P., & Druley, K. A. (2008). Predicting response to alcohol and drug abuse treatments: Role of psychiatric severity. Archives of General Psychiatry, 40(6), 620-625.
Sherry, M. A., & Best, T. M. (2007). A comparison of 2 rehabilitation programs in the treatment of acute hamstring strains. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 34(3), 116-125.
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