Social factors play an important role in the development of, and recovery from, addiction. Peer influence may either encourage or discourage use of substances depending on the group.
Social factors play an important role in the development of, and recovery from, addiction. Peer influence may either encourage or discourage use of substances depending on the group.
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Research on the social identity model of recovery, however, is still in early stages. Therefore, in this study, Dingle, Cruwys & Frings used qualitative interviews with adults residing in drug and alcohol therapeutic communities to explore how social identities changed during the course of their addiction and during early recovery.
Twenty-one volunteers from a drug and alcohol therapeutic community volunteered to participate in these interviews. A majority of participants were male and single with an average age of 36 (ranging from 26 to 58). Most did not have children residing with them and had an average of 4 close friends. The interview was designed to ensure that participants did not know that the topic of interest was social relationships and social identity.
Three open ended questions were used:
The authors then read and coded the interview transcripts and conducted a thematic analysis to identify primary themes and subthemes.
The interviews yielded two major identity-related pathways into addiction:
Before addiction, participants on the first pathway described experiences such as happy childhoods, achievements in school or sports, and being a good parent while participants in the second pathway noted social isolation despite living with family or a significant other. Substance use was viewed as problematic and stigmatized for the first group while the second group associated it with a sense of belonging.
During addiction, for the second group, this sense of belonging eventually shifted to a point where some experienced rejection which precipitated their entering treatment. Other participants cited conversations with family members or loss of friends as reasons for entering treatment.
After leaving the therapeutic community, participants in the first pathway desired to renew the positive identity they held before experiencing addiction while those in the second pathway mentioned goals consistent with an aspirational identity (e.g., becoming a student or parent for the first time).
This study identified two main identity-related pathways into addiction and recovery:
The social identity model of recovery suggests that changing one’s identity from someone actively addicted/using substances to an identity as someone in recovery is important for achieving successful outcomes, and that this identity change is more likely to occur if the person is engaged with a network or social group of other recovering individuals. As people begin to develop an substance use disorder (SUD), they experience a loss of their existing social identity (e.g., as a good spouse, parent, or employee/employer); restoring or regaining this lost identity may provide motivation for people to transition into recovery.
However, this idea may not apply to all individuals who recover from substance use disorder (SUD). Using qualitative methods, the authors sought to uncover other social identities among people living in therapeutic communities, and how their social identities and relationships changed from before addiction onset to after receiving treatment. Rich qualitative data from individuals in early recovery can help build the social identity model of recovery and offer hypotheses for future research.
Development of clinical interventions could benefit from understanding social identity history and pathways experienced by patients, but it is unlikely that a one-size-fits-all approach is possible. However, assessment of a patient’s social network and identity may be a helpful part of the treatment process and can be used to help motivate and sustain change.
Understanding how social and cognitive factors impact the pathway from addiction to recovery with naturalistic, longitudinal studies can be helpful for developing prevention and intervention strategies. For example, although there are several studies showing associations between developing (or re-establishing) a recovery identity and more abstinence, these have been mostly cross-sectional (where constructs are measured at one point in time). So at this point it is difficult to answer “To what extent is increased identity as a person in recovery a cause, result, or simply a correlate of abstinence?”
Future research can use qualitative studies like this to build the social identity model of recovery, and test empirical questions like these. In addition, it is also important to replicate the study in other populations and settings (e.g., emerging adults in residential treatment in the United States) to see if similar themes emerge.
Dingle, G. A., Cruwys, T., & Frings, D. (2015). Social Identities as Pathways into and out of Addiction. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01795
l
Research on the social identity model of recovery, however, is still in early stages. Therefore, in this study, Dingle, Cruwys & Frings used qualitative interviews with adults residing in drug and alcohol therapeutic communities to explore how social identities changed during the course of their addiction and during early recovery.
Twenty-one volunteers from a drug and alcohol therapeutic community volunteered to participate in these interviews. A majority of participants were male and single with an average age of 36 (ranging from 26 to 58). Most did not have children residing with them and had an average of 4 close friends. The interview was designed to ensure that participants did not know that the topic of interest was social relationships and social identity.
Three open ended questions were used:
The authors then read and coded the interview transcripts and conducted a thematic analysis to identify primary themes and subthemes.
The interviews yielded two major identity-related pathways into addiction:
Before addiction, participants on the first pathway described experiences such as happy childhoods, achievements in school or sports, and being a good parent while participants in the second pathway noted social isolation despite living with family or a significant other. Substance use was viewed as problematic and stigmatized for the first group while the second group associated it with a sense of belonging.
During addiction, for the second group, this sense of belonging eventually shifted to a point where some experienced rejection which precipitated their entering treatment. Other participants cited conversations with family members or loss of friends as reasons for entering treatment.
After leaving the therapeutic community, participants in the first pathway desired to renew the positive identity they held before experiencing addiction while those in the second pathway mentioned goals consistent with an aspirational identity (e.g., becoming a student or parent for the first time).
This study identified two main identity-related pathways into addiction and recovery:
The social identity model of recovery suggests that changing one’s identity from someone actively addicted/using substances to an identity as someone in recovery is important for achieving successful outcomes, and that this identity change is more likely to occur if the person is engaged with a network or social group of other recovering individuals. As people begin to develop an substance use disorder (SUD), they experience a loss of their existing social identity (e.g., as a good spouse, parent, or employee/employer); restoring or regaining this lost identity may provide motivation for people to transition into recovery.
However, this idea may not apply to all individuals who recover from substance use disorder (SUD). Using qualitative methods, the authors sought to uncover other social identities among people living in therapeutic communities, and how their social identities and relationships changed from before addiction onset to after receiving treatment. Rich qualitative data from individuals in early recovery can help build the social identity model of recovery and offer hypotheses for future research.
Development of clinical interventions could benefit from understanding social identity history and pathways experienced by patients, but it is unlikely that a one-size-fits-all approach is possible. However, assessment of a patient’s social network and identity may be a helpful part of the treatment process and can be used to help motivate and sustain change.
Understanding how social and cognitive factors impact the pathway from addiction to recovery with naturalistic, longitudinal studies can be helpful for developing prevention and intervention strategies. For example, although there are several studies showing associations between developing (or re-establishing) a recovery identity and more abstinence, these have been mostly cross-sectional (where constructs are measured at one point in time). So at this point it is difficult to answer “To what extent is increased identity as a person in recovery a cause, result, or simply a correlate of abstinence?”
Future research can use qualitative studies like this to build the social identity model of recovery, and test empirical questions like these. In addition, it is also important to replicate the study in other populations and settings (e.g., emerging adults in residential treatment in the United States) to see if similar themes emerge.
Dingle, G. A., Cruwys, T., & Frings, D. (2015). Social Identities as Pathways into and out of Addiction. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01795
l
Research on the social identity model of recovery, however, is still in early stages. Therefore, in this study, Dingle, Cruwys & Frings used qualitative interviews with adults residing in drug and alcohol therapeutic communities to explore how social identities changed during the course of their addiction and during early recovery.
Twenty-one volunteers from a drug and alcohol therapeutic community volunteered to participate in these interviews. A majority of participants were male and single with an average age of 36 (ranging from 26 to 58). Most did not have children residing with them and had an average of 4 close friends. The interview was designed to ensure that participants did not know that the topic of interest was social relationships and social identity.
Three open ended questions were used:
The authors then read and coded the interview transcripts and conducted a thematic analysis to identify primary themes and subthemes.
The interviews yielded two major identity-related pathways into addiction:
Before addiction, participants on the first pathway described experiences such as happy childhoods, achievements in school or sports, and being a good parent while participants in the second pathway noted social isolation despite living with family or a significant other. Substance use was viewed as problematic and stigmatized for the first group while the second group associated it with a sense of belonging.
During addiction, for the second group, this sense of belonging eventually shifted to a point where some experienced rejection which precipitated their entering treatment. Other participants cited conversations with family members or loss of friends as reasons for entering treatment.
After leaving the therapeutic community, participants in the first pathway desired to renew the positive identity they held before experiencing addiction while those in the second pathway mentioned goals consistent with an aspirational identity (e.g., becoming a student or parent for the first time).
This study identified two main identity-related pathways into addiction and recovery:
The social identity model of recovery suggests that changing one’s identity from someone actively addicted/using substances to an identity as someone in recovery is important for achieving successful outcomes, and that this identity change is more likely to occur if the person is engaged with a network or social group of other recovering individuals. As people begin to develop an substance use disorder (SUD), they experience a loss of their existing social identity (e.g., as a good spouse, parent, or employee/employer); restoring or regaining this lost identity may provide motivation for people to transition into recovery.
However, this idea may not apply to all individuals who recover from substance use disorder (SUD). Using qualitative methods, the authors sought to uncover other social identities among people living in therapeutic communities, and how their social identities and relationships changed from before addiction onset to after receiving treatment. Rich qualitative data from individuals in early recovery can help build the social identity model of recovery and offer hypotheses for future research.
Development of clinical interventions could benefit from understanding social identity history and pathways experienced by patients, but it is unlikely that a one-size-fits-all approach is possible. However, assessment of a patient’s social network and identity may be a helpful part of the treatment process and can be used to help motivate and sustain change.
Understanding how social and cognitive factors impact the pathway from addiction to recovery with naturalistic, longitudinal studies can be helpful for developing prevention and intervention strategies. For example, although there are several studies showing associations between developing (or re-establishing) a recovery identity and more abstinence, these have been mostly cross-sectional (where constructs are measured at one point in time). So at this point it is difficult to answer “To what extent is increased identity as a person in recovery a cause, result, or simply a correlate of abstinence?”
Future research can use qualitative studies like this to build the social identity model of recovery, and test empirical questions like these. In addition, it is also important to replicate the study in other populations and settings (e.g., emerging adults in residential treatment in the United States) to see if similar themes emerge.
Dingle, G. A., Cruwys, T., & Frings, D. (2015). Social Identities as Pathways into and out of Addiction. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1795. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01795
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