Abstract
We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven women who participated in alcoholic anonymous(AA), and studied the relationships among female members and the experiences which made their recovery process difficult. We analyzed qualitatively and inductively those results from the interviews and identified 10 categories. The following three categories were identified as a common women' s recovery experience: (1) the difficulty of recovery for female alcoholics; (2) change in the relationships with family, and in dealing with other people; and (3) ambivalence felt to the female members of the AA group. Female alcoholics, who had ambivalence towards other female members, also showed sympathy to each other, which enabled them to understand better their female sexuality. The experiences they gathered through deepened relationships with other female alcoholics induced a new change in their human relation to them. Our research suggests that the conflict between a woman' s role as a wife and a mother sometimes caused a relapse leading to more alcohol abuse in them and might make their recovery more difficult. But, on the other hand, it enhanced motivation to stop drinking, and suggests that it is a characteristic behavior for them.
