Aims: This study aimed to identify appropriate measures of successful membership of Alcoholics Anonymous and to investigate membership patterns and perceptions of sobriety across sociodemographic categories of AA membership.

Design: This study employs a cross-sectional survey design. All research participants were members of Alcoholics Anonymous based in the community.

Participants: Seventy-seven participants from nine individual AA groups returned questionnaires. These compare favourably in relation to age, gender, and length of membership and time since last alcoholic drink with previous samples of AA members.

Measurements: All data were collected by means of a self-completion questionnaire which included open-ended questions on respondents' understanding of successful AA membership along with closed questions on meeting attendance, 12-stepping activity and length of membership.

Findings: Successful AA membership was associated with sobriety as well as longevity of membership, attendance at AA meetings and commitment to 12-step work. There were few differences across sociodemographic groups in perceived successful membership.

Conclusions: Simple measures of success, as suggested by previous authors and volunteered here by AA members themselves, which have the advantage of not illustrating bias according to sociodemographic group can be easily employed in further research with this population.