Abstinent individuals reported lower levels of support from family and higher levels of support from friends than did individuals with persistent AUD. These differences may be related to the likelihood in this high-risk sample of active AUD in relatives. Individuals who became abstinent between baseline and follow-up may have distanced themselves from their families and cultivated friends who did not have drinking problems, or who were also trying to abstain, in order to maintain abstinence themselves. It is equally plausible that lower perceived family support is due to the respondent’s behavior, wherein objectionable alcohol-related behaviors alienated family members. Since social support was measured only at follow-up, and alcohol-specific support (e.g., support for remission) was not queried, we cannot examine change in support or determine whether support from friends is related to AA or treatment participation. Treatments designed specifically to increase support for abstinence in the social networks of individuals with AUDs result in drinking outcomes similar to or better than those attained with more traditional treatments (Litt et al., 2007; Litt et al., 2009; UKATT Research Team, 2005). Similarly, drinking
