Kiser, Edgar VPowers, Erin R.2014-10-132014-10-132014Powers_washington_0250E_13648.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/26094Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2014Self-help/mutual-aid groups, relative to other forms of voluntary association, continue to thrive. Many of these groups follow the 12-Step model of Alcoholics Anonymous. One such organization is the fellowship of Overeaters Anonymous, a group for those with a desire to stop compulsively overeating and/or recover from other eating disorders. I analyze this group using mixed methods and relying on data I collected primarily from 2010 to 2012, including 151 participant surveys, 16 group surveys, 30 interviews, and 366 discrete observations of 21 OA groups (i.e., meetings) located in a large Pacific Northwest city. In this dissertation, I explore 12-Step groups as sociological phenomena, addressing identification processes, the effects of costly behavioral dictates on group members, and the diverse determinants and types of recovery experienced by members.application/pdfen-USCopyright is held by the individual authors.12 Step; identification; Overeaters Anonymous; recovery; self-help; serviceSociologysociologyThesis