Dissertation

Psychosocial correlates of 12-Step-based recovery from substance abuse

White, Joseph Michael

1997

Overview

Research on recovery from addictive substances is necessary to provide a more complete picture of the addictive process. The proposed research was developed to further expand the knowledge base regarding the process of recovery with respect to two potential components of that process: spirituality and identity. First, spirituality has been considered a key component of recovery by adherents of the 12 Step model of recovery but has not been empirically validated within that context. As a concept, spirituality has not been well understood by researchers and many professionals, has often been defined solely as religiosity, and has frequently been regarded with disdain and/or suspicion. In this study, spirituality was operationally defined and tested as a predictor of recovery. Second, early experience with substance use has been found to interfere with (e.g., delay, block) adequate resolution of relevant issues of psychosocial development, especially the identity crisis. Inadequate psychosocial development may also interfere with a person's ability to understand and commit to spirituality. Poor resolution of the identity crisis, then, may directly influence recovery and indirectly influence the association between spirituality and recovery. Therefore, assessment of the fifth stage of psychosocial development (identity versus role confusion) was also addressed in this research. The primary focus of this study was to examine the empirical association of recovery with (a) spirituality and identify and (b) to determine whether recovery acts as an intervening variable between identity and spirituality. Results suggest that spirituality and identity are positively correlated and that both are positively correlated with recovery. Individuals with longer sobriety utilize the most mature identity style (i.e., Information) and individuals with shorter sobriety utilize the less mature styles (i.e., Normative and Diffuse). Additionally, interactions were found between recovery behavior and identity styles for quality of recovery and spirituality. Individuals with an Information style who engaged in more recovery behaviors had higher quality of recovery and spirituality scores than individuals with the Normative or Diffuse categories and who had fewer recovery behaviors. Greater understanding of the influence of the spirituality and identity constructs, especially over time, are called for.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: Clergy / Clinical psychology / Cognitive psychology / Cognitive therapy / Developmental psychology / Personality / Personality psychology / Psychotherapy
• ISBN: 0591628058, 9780591628050