Delabeling and relabeling in Gamblers Anonymous: Problems with transferring the Alcoholics Anonymous paradigm

Exploratory data from both structured and unstructured interviews with members of Alcoholics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous, as well as additional data from previous observations, suggest that the recovery rate of A.A. is higher than that of G.A.. Since the programs are virtually the same an examination of the social context of the labeling process reveals that the more readily available use of the medical model for both the alcoholic and the significant others of the alcoholic are likely significant differences between the compulsive gambler and the compulsive drinker.An embryonic version of this paper was presented at the Second Annual Conference on Gambling, Lake Tahoe, August 1975. The authors thank Henry Lesieur, Robert Custer, and the anonymous reviewers ofThe Journal of Gambling Behavior for their comments and suggestions. We give special thanks to Dan, Howie, Jeanne, Berdell, Barbara, John, Swede, Happy Jack, Nancy, Skip, and many other anonymous members of G.A. and A.A. for their help and cooperation in this study.