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To promote supportive interactions among stigmatized individuals, anonymity seems desirable. However, anonymity is a complex construct that could positively or negatively influence support depending on its use. To uncover the role of anonymity as a core communication principle in the context of support groups and organizations, this dissertation aims to understand the constituting (and potentially deconstituting) aspects of anonymous communication in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Adopting the anonymous communication model and the four flows model, this dissertation specifically explores how anonymity enables and constrains key organizing processes and key organizational/group/individual outcomes of AA. Using a mixed methods multiple case study of anonymous communication, 16 in-depth interviews and 93 questionnaires were analyzed from members of four AA groups. The data provide a rich …