Principal Investigator: William R. Miller, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Melanie E. Bennett, Ph.D.
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
It has long been believed that spirituality is an important factor in both the etiology of and recovery from addictions (Miller, 1990, 1997). This perspective is certainly central to the Twelve Step programs. A large body of empirical evidence points in this direction (Miller & Bennett, 1998), but the evidence is scattered, methodology has often been poor, and studies were seldom designed specifically to study spirituality and addictions. We have taken various steps toward encouraging and improving research in this area. A large bibliography on spirituality and addictions is available for download in the ?bibliographies? section of this website. Our efforts in this area have included:
References:
Co-Investigators: Melanie E. Bennett, Ph.D.
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
It has long been believed that spirituality is an important factor in both the etiology of and recovery from addictions (Miller, 1990, 1997). This perspective is certainly central to the Twelve Step programs. A large body of empirical evidence points in this direction (Miller & Bennett, 1998), but the evidence is scattered, methodology has often been poor, and studies were seldom designed specifically to study spirituality and addictions. We have taken various steps toward encouraging and improving research in this area. A large bibliography on spirituality and addictions is available for download in the ?bibliographies? section of this website. Our efforts in this area have included:
- exploring purpose in life as an aspect of alcoholism and recovery (Brown et al., 1998; Tonigan et al., 2001).
- considering implications of biblical teaching regarding drug use (Miller, 1995)
- developing and reviewing measures of spirituality (e.g., Connors et al., 1996; Miller, 1996, 1999b)
- convening a conference on how to conduct appropriate research regarding Alcoholics Anonymous (McCrady & Miller, 1993)
- addressing methodology for studying spirituality in addictions research (Miller, 1999a; Miller & Thoresen, 2003)
- differentiating the spiritual approach of AA from ?disease model? treatments that often claim the name of ?Twelve-Step? (Miller & Kurtz,1994)
- conducting a randomized trial of intercessory prayer in the treatment of alcoholism, finding no beneficial effect (Walker et al., 1997)
- discussing clinical issues in integrating spirituality within treatment (Miller & Martin, 1988; Miller, 1999)
References:
- Brown, J. M., Ashcroft, F. G., & Miller, W. R. (1998). Purpose in life among alcoholics: A comparison of three ethnic groups. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 16(3), 1-11.
- Connors, G. J., Tonigan, J. S., & Miller, W. R. (1996). A measure of religious background and behavior for use in behavior change research. Psychology of Addictive Behavior, 10, 90-96.
- McCrady, B. S. & Miller. W. R. (Eds.) (1993). Research on Alcoholics Anonymous: Opportunities and Alternatives (pp. 3-11). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies.
- Miller, W. R. (1990). Spirituality: The silent dimension in addiction research. The 1990 Leonard Ball oration. Drug & Alcohol Review, 9, 259-266.
- Miller, W. R. (1995). Towards a biblical perspective on drug use. Journal of Ministry in Addiction and Recovery, 2(2), 77-86.
- Miller, W. R. (1996). In memoriam: Howard P. Brown, Jr. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 14(3), 3- 6.
- Miller, W. R. (1997). Spiritual aspects of addictions treatment and research. Mind/Body Medicine: A Journal of Clinical Behavioral Medicine, 2, 37-43.
- Miller, W. R. (1998). Researching the spiritual dimensions of alcohol and other drug problems. Addiction, 93, 979-990.
- Miller, W. R. (1999a). Can we study spirituality? The Addictions Newsletter, 6, 4, 21.
- Miller, W. R. (Ed.) (1999b). Integrating spirituality into treatment: Resources for practitioners. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Miller, W. R., & Bennett, M. E. (1998). Addictions: Alcohol/drug problems. In D. B. Larson, J. P. Swyers, & M. E. McCullough (Eds.), Scientific research on spirituality and health: A consensus report (pp. 68-82). Rockville, MD: National Institute for Healthcare Research.
- Miller, W. R., & Kurtz, E. (1994). Models of alcoholism used in treatment: Contrasting A.A. and other perspectives with which it is often confused. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55, 159-166.
- Miller, W. R., & Martin, J. E. (Eds.) (1988). Behavior therapy and religion: Integrating spiritual and behavioral approaches to change. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
- Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American Psychologist.
- Tonigan, J. S., Miller, W. R., & Connors, G. J. (2001). The search for meaning in life as a predictor of alcoholism treatment outcome. In R. Longabaugh & P. W. Wirtz (Eds.), Project MATCH hypotheses: Results and causal chain analyses (pp. 154-165). Project MATCH Monograph Series, Vol. 8. Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
- Walker, S. R., Tonigan, J. S., Miller, W. R., Comer, S., & Kahlich, L. (1997). Intercessory prayer in the treatment of alcohol dependence: A pilot investigation. Alternative Therapies, 3(6), 79-86.
