Personal recovery for special populations: a qualitative study exploring the role of special interest meetings within 12-step fellowships

Table 1 Participant characteristics

Participant	Age	Race	Gender	Sexuality	12-Step Fellowship Attended	Time in Recovery	Special Interest Meeting (SIM) attended	Pathway used in Recovery
1	39	White	Male	Heterosexual	SLAA,NA AA,ACA	4 years	Men	Traditional
2	33	Displaced African	She/Her/They/Them	Queer lesbian	NA	5 years	Women, POC, LGBTQIA+, “Black Recovery Matters”	Outside-SIM Hybrid
3	49	Brisitish Pakistani	Male	Homosexual	NA,CMA AA,CA	8 years	LGBTQIA+, POC, Men	Hybrid
4	35	Mixed Carribean	Female	Bisexual	NA,CA,AA	7 years	Women,LGBTQIA+	Hybrid
5	43	White Other	Trans Female	Hetero-flexible	NA,AA, SLAA,OA, WA,ITTA	9 years	LGBTQIA+, Women; Trans Sex Workers	Hybrid
6	24	White	Genderqueer	Queer-Pansexual	N,AA	17 months	LGBTQIA+ Young People, Women, Non-binary, LGBTQIA+	Outside-SIM Hybrid
7	63	White	Male	Homosexual	NA,AA	13 years	LGBTQIA+, Times of Illness	SIM-Only
8	40	White European	Non-binary	Pansexual	NA,CMA, ABA,AA	8 years	LGBTQIA+, “Illness in Recovery” Men, Language-Specific	Hybrid
9	57	Afro Carribean-Mixed	Female	Heterosexual	CA,AA,NA	19 years	Women	Hybrid
10	46	Black British; Carribean	Male	Heterosexual	NA,CODA,AA	8 years	“Black Recovery Matters”	Hybrid
11	50	Mixed	Male	Homosexual	CMA,NA,AA	5 years	LGBTQIA+	Traditional
12	33	Black	He/They	Queer	ACA,CODA,NA, AA,SLAA	4 years	POC,BIPOC, LGBTQIA+	Hybrid

Abbreviations defined: AA Alcoholics Anonymous, ABA Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous, ACA Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families, BAME Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, BIPOC Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Colour, CA Cocaine Anonymous, CMA Crystal Meth Anonymous, CODA Co-Dependents Anonymous, ITTA Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous, LGBTQIA+ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex and Asexual, NA Narcotics Anonymous, SLAA Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, OA Overeaters Anonymous, POC People of Colour, WA Workaholics Anonymous
Pathway description:
Traditional - Involves attending meetings where individuals primarily identify as addicts or with a specific issue in a 12-Step fellowship.
Hybrid - Includes participation in both SIMs and traditional meetings to find support and connection in both settings.
SIM-Only - Exclusively entails attending SIMs within a specific fellowship.
Outside-SIM Hybrid - Combines the support of a SIM formed outside a primary fellowship with traditional fellowship meetings.

ISSN: 1747-597X