Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a worldwide mutual aid societyMäkelä 1996, p. 3 describing itself as a fellowship of men and women with a desire to stop drinking alcohol and maintain sobriety while helping others to do so through abstinence, practicing the Twelve Steps, and lifelong program of character development. The first of many twelve-step programs, AA was started by white, middle class Americans, but it's intentionally broad philosophy has aided AA in spreading "across diverse cultures holding different beliefs and values." Moreover, by avoiding affiliation with outside political and social groups or having opinions on "outside issues", AA has been successfully introduced to geopolitical areas otherwise resistant to grassroots movements. Although AA has high attrition rates, its program can help alcoholics maintain sobriety.