The Influence of Social Recovery Capital and Stress on the Health and Well-Being of Individuals Recovering from Addiction

Abstract

Historically, recovery from addiction has been synonymous with sobriety and when a person relapsed, all the gains they had made were erased. More recently efforts are underway to redefine recovery as a multidimensional process of change characterized by abstinence, improved health, citizenship, and actions taken by individuals to reach their full potential. This study contributes to the evolution of a more holistic understanding of recovery across the life course by utilizing four waves of data from the Pathways to Long-Term Abstinence Study (N=355) to examine how social recovery capital, stress, and individual contextual factors shape the physical health, mental health, and well-being of individuals recovering from addiction. Results from growth curve analysis indicate that the mental health and well-being of those recovering from addiction improve over time, while their physical health declines. Evidence also confirms that the positive influences of social recovery capital extend beyond sobriety to both directly and indirectly alter global health trajectories. While findings presented here offer hope that life can get better in some areas, they also raise significant concern over a long term pattern of declining physical health and the negative effects of stress that persist during recovery. A person's ability to sustain abstinence contributes to improvements in mental health and well-being, but not to physical health, suggesting that the physical damage done while actively abusing substances is significant and enduring. Finally, women recovering from addiction were confirmed to suffer disproportionate physical and mental health disparities, adding to the already substantial body of literature that suggests gender-specific prevention and treatment interventions across disciplines are needed to keep girls from becoming addicts and to better serve the unique needs of women who do. Given that social recovery capital is able to simultaneously influence multiple domains of recovery, interventions targeting enhancement of social recovery capital may prove particularly valuable in the effort to help people recover from addiction.