Substance Abuse and Abuse Q 24
The nurse determines that the wife of an alcoholic client is benefiting from attending Al-Anon group when she hears the wife say:
A. “My attendance at the meetings has helped me to see that I provoke my husband’s violence.”
B. “I no longer feel that I deserve the beatings my husband inflicts on me.”
C. “I can tolerate my husband’s destructive behavior now that I know they are common with alcoholics.”
D. “I enjoy attending the meetings because they get me out of the house and away from my husband.”
Correct Answer: B. “I no longer feel that I deserve the beatings my husband inflicts on me.”
Al-Anon support groups are a protected, supportive opportunity for spouses and significant others to learn what to expect and to obtain excellent pointers about successful behavior changes. Option 2 is the most healthy response because it exemplifies an understanding that the alcoholic partner is responsible for his behavior and cannot be allowed to blame family members for loss of control.
Option A: Early empirical studies of Al-Anon support these findings. Among Al-Anon members who were wives of alcoholic husbands, a longer duration of Al-Anon membership was associated with greater decreases in negative coping (e.g., threaten actions without follow-through; have emotional outbursts); and, in turn, decreases in negative coping were associated with a longer duration of the husband’s abstinence. The greatest improvements in coping may occur early in Al-Anon membership, although they may continue for seven years or more.
Option C: Al-Anon members also reported improvements in understanding alcoholism, and in levels of depression, assertiveness, self-acceptance, and relationship satisfaction. Al-Anon Facilitation Therapy (a manual-guided, therapist-delivered counseling method designed to encourage participation in Al-Anon) reduced emotional distress and increased coping behaviors to a larger extent than a wait-list control condition. Facilitation also yielded reductions in depression, anger, and family conflict, and increases in family cohesion and relationship happiness among Concerned Others of treatment-resistant alcoholics
Option D: Dittrich and Trapold found greater reductions in anxiety and depression and increases in self-concept at a 4-month follow-up among wives of treatment-resistant alcoholics randomly assigned to therapy based on Al-Anon concepts than among those assigned to a wait-list control condition. Recent studies support these findings in that stable members in Al-Anon reported a better quality of life, less concern about the drinker’s alcohol use, and a better relationship with the drinker than did newcomers to Al-Anon.