The Impact of Counselor Recovery Status Similarity on Perceptions of Attractiveness With Members of Alcoholics Anonymous

Abstract

This study explores the impact of counselor alcoholism recovery status on perceptions of recovering alcoholics who are active members of Alcoholics Anonymous. The participants ( n = 116) were given a description of an analogue counselor and rated this counselor using the Counselor Rating Form—Short. There were three forms of the analogue counselor description: similarly perceived recovering, dissimilarly perceived non-recovering, and control. The similarly perceived recovering counselor was viewed more positively than the control. No statistically significant differences were found between the dissimilarity and control conditions. These results are discussed in terms of support for Rosenbaum's repulsion hypothesis of interpersonal relationship development.