Although social support is widely acknowledged as vital to addiction recovery, there is limited understanding of which relationships—such as mentors, peers, family, or community members—are most impactful. This study explored who is perceived as most helpful among members of The Phoenix, an active recovery community centered on shared, sober activities.
l
Although it is widely recognized that social support plays an important role in recovery from substance use disorder and other mental health problems, there is limited understanding of the specific types of relationships that matter most. In mutual-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), people benefit from participation, in part, by the AA-specific social support they receive. That said, among newer non-AA recovery support services it remains unclear whether support from peers who are also in recovery, mentors, members of shared communities, or family tend to be the most impactful. Like mutual-help groups, recovery support services are also thought to work, in part, by linking people with recovery-specific social support. In this study, the researchers examined perceptions of addiction recovery support among members of The Phoenix, a recovery community that emphasizes connection through shared, sober social activities. Specifically, they explored which social supports were on average perceived as most supportive of recovery, as well as how Phoenix participation influenced perceptions of support.
This was a cross-sectional study with 79 Phoenix members that explored which characteristics of Phoenix participation and what kinds of social connections influenced perceived addiction recovery support. The graphic below contains more information about Phoenix.
Phoenix members were invited to participate in this study through The Phoenix app (known as “NewForm”). Participants completed an online questionnaire capturing demographic details, recovery history, and their involvement with the organization. Those who completed the survey were invited to participate in a virtual interview, during which they mapped out their personal social networks.
The researchers utilized egocentric social network analysis to understand the structure and dynamics of each participant’s recovery-related relationships. In this approach, participants were asked to identify key individuals in their lives—both supportive of, or potentially harmful to their recovery—and provided information about each person’s role, recovery status, and involvement with The Phoenix. The researchers also assessed how interconnected these individuals were with one another.
The researchers used the survey and network analysis data to produce the following measures: 1) duration of Phoenix attendance, 2) frequency of Phoenix attendance, 3) if identified other was a relative (yes or no), 4) if identified other was a mentor (yes or no), 5) if identified other was in addiction recovery (yes or no), 6) if identified other was also a Phoenix member (yes or no), 7) participant’s social network size, 8) participant’s social network density, and 9) proportion of social network members also in addiction recovery.
These measures were then tested for association with perceived recovery support provided by important others, after accounting for participants’ demographic characteristics.
The study sample consisted of active members of The Phoenix. Participants were on average 38 years old, with nearly equal representation of men (48%) and women (46%), and a small proportion identifying as non-binary. The majority of participants identified as non-Hispanic White (76%), with smaller percentages identifying as Hispanic or Latinx (14%), Black or African American (3%), and other racial or multiracial backgrounds.
Participants reported varying lengths of involvement with The Phoenix, with about 29% having joined within the past 6 months and others reporting up to 5 or more years of participation. Most attended group-based activities 1 to 2 times per week. On average, each participant identified just over 9 individuals in their personal support networks, with roughly 39% of those network members also being in recovery.
Time with The Phoenix and relationships with more experienced people in recovery mattered most
Participants who had been involved with The Phoenix for a longer period tended to perceive greater support from the people in their social networks. The individuals seen as offering the most support tended to be those who served as mentors, were themselves in recovery, or were also members of The Phoenix (see Graph below).Though it is not clear what proportion of friends in the graph below were also in recovery, it is likely that, of the people in their network who were in recovery (one-third of all relationships), many were concentrated amongst their friends rather than other people (e.g., parent, spouse, etc.).
Network structure measures were not associated with perceived support
Notably, broader characteristics of participants’ networks—such as how interconnected their contacts were or how many important others were in addiction recovery—did not markedly influence the level of perceived support. This suggests that the quality and nature of individual relationships may matter more to one’s perceived recovery support than the overall structure of one’s support network.
The researchers found that individuals who had been involved with The Phoenix for a longer time tended to report greater support from people in their social circles. Those seen as offering the highest levels of support were often mentors, peers who were also in recovery, or fellow members of The Phoenix community.
It is perhaps not surprising that greater time involved with The Phoenix was associated with greater perceived social support, as this may be a proxy for more time in recovery, overall –social bonds and the support they provide tend to build over time. This echoes previous studies indicating the importance of reshaping one’s social network to enhancing addiction recovery, and the time this can take. This finding should, however, be considered in light of possible selection bias effects that can be hard to avoid in studies like this. Individuals not getting support from The Phoenix may have been less likely to continue to engage with the app and the program’s activities and may therefore have been less likely to get recruited into the study. It’s hard to know how selection bias may or may not have influenced these results, but its possible bias inflated the observed associations.
Prior research has emphasized the importance of social support in recovery from substance use disorder, showing that engaging in meaningful, prosocial and rewarding activities and forming connections with others in recovery tends to improve recovery outcomes. The current study builds on this by identifying specific relationship characteristics—such as being a mentor, a fellow community member, etc. —that are most strongly associated with perceived support in a newer recovery support service.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the overall structure of a person’s network—such as how interconnected their contacts were or how many in their network were also in recovery—did not appear to significantly influence the amount of support perceived. Despite the fact that people in recovery provided more support than those who were not, the overall percent of one’s network in recovery was not associated with overall perceived support. This suggests that, for this self-selected sample of Phoenix members, the strength and nature of individual relationships may be more important than the broader configuration of one’s social network when it comes to fostering recovery support.
This study suggests that certain kinds of social supports—particularly mentors and peers in recovery —are experienced as most supportive of addiction recovery. Further, perceived support appeared to grow with time participating in The Phoenix, which may be another way of measuring time in recovery, overall. Finally, findings suggested that fostering meaningful, recovery-oriented relationships may be more impactful than simply increasing the size or density of one’s social network. While these findings are not novel, per se, they provide needed information on recovery processes in newer recovery supports like The Phoenix.
Patterson, M. S., Francis, A. N., Pew, S. H., Liu, S., Kang, Z., Heinrich, K. M., & Prochnow, T. (2025). Exploring support provision for recovery from substance use disorder among members of a sober active community. Scientific Reports, 15(8740). doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92029-1.
l
Although it is widely recognized that social support plays an important role in recovery from substance use disorder and other mental health problems, there is limited understanding of the specific types of relationships that matter most. In mutual-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), people benefit from participation, in part, by the AA-specific social support they receive. That said, among newer non-AA recovery support services it remains unclear whether support from peers who are also in recovery, mentors, members of shared communities, or family tend to be the most impactful. Like mutual-help groups, recovery support services are also thought to work, in part, by linking people with recovery-specific social support. In this study, the researchers examined perceptions of addiction recovery support among members of The Phoenix, a recovery community that emphasizes connection through shared, sober social activities. Specifically, they explored which social supports were on average perceived as most supportive of recovery, as well as how Phoenix participation influenced perceptions of support.
This was a cross-sectional study with 79 Phoenix members that explored which characteristics of Phoenix participation and what kinds of social connections influenced perceived addiction recovery support. The graphic below contains more information about Phoenix.
Phoenix members were invited to participate in this study through The Phoenix app (known as “NewForm”). Participants completed an online questionnaire capturing demographic details, recovery history, and their involvement with the organization. Those who completed the survey were invited to participate in a virtual interview, during which they mapped out their personal social networks.
The researchers utilized egocentric social network analysis to understand the structure and dynamics of each participant’s recovery-related relationships. In this approach, participants were asked to identify key individuals in their lives—both supportive of, or potentially harmful to their recovery—and provided information about each person’s role, recovery status, and involvement with The Phoenix. The researchers also assessed how interconnected these individuals were with one another.
The researchers used the survey and network analysis data to produce the following measures: 1) duration of Phoenix attendance, 2) frequency of Phoenix attendance, 3) if identified other was a relative (yes or no), 4) if identified other was a mentor (yes or no), 5) if identified other was in addiction recovery (yes or no), 6) if identified other was also a Phoenix member (yes or no), 7) participant’s social network size, 8) participant’s social network density, and 9) proportion of social network members also in addiction recovery.
These measures were then tested for association with perceived recovery support provided by important others, after accounting for participants’ demographic characteristics.
The study sample consisted of active members of The Phoenix. Participants were on average 38 years old, with nearly equal representation of men (48%) and women (46%), and a small proportion identifying as non-binary. The majority of participants identified as non-Hispanic White (76%), with smaller percentages identifying as Hispanic or Latinx (14%), Black or African American (3%), and other racial or multiracial backgrounds.
Participants reported varying lengths of involvement with The Phoenix, with about 29% having joined within the past 6 months and others reporting up to 5 or more years of participation. Most attended group-based activities 1 to 2 times per week. On average, each participant identified just over 9 individuals in their personal support networks, with roughly 39% of those network members also being in recovery.
Time with The Phoenix and relationships with more experienced people in recovery mattered most
Participants who had been involved with The Phoenix for a longer period tended to perceive greater support from the people in their social networks. The individuals seen as offering the most support tended to be those who served as mentors, were themselves in recovery, or were also members of The Phoenix (see Graph below).Though it is not clear what proportion of friends in the graph below were also in recovery, it is likely that, of the people in their network who were in recovery (one-third of all relationships), many were concentrated amongst their friends rather than other people (e.g., parent, spouse, etc.).
Network structure measures were not associated with perceived support
Notably, broader characteristics of participants’ networks—such as how interconnected their contacts were or how many important others were in addiction recovery—did not markedly influence the level of perceived support. This suggests that the quality and nature of individual relationships may matter more to one’s perceived recovery support than the overall structure of one’s support network.
The researchers found that individuals who had been involved with The Phoenix for a longer time tended to report greater support from people in their social circles. Those seen as offering the highest levels of support were often mentors, peers who were also in recovery, or fellow members of The Phoenix community.
It is perhaps not surprising that greater time involved with The Phoenix was associated with greater perceived social support, as this may be a proxy for more time in recovery, overall –social bonds and the support they provide tend to build over time. This echoes previous studies indicating the importance of reshaping one’s social network to enhancing addiction recovery, and the time this can take. This finding should, however, be considered in light of possible selection bias effects that can be hard to avoid in studies like this. Individuals not getting support from The Phoenix may have been less likely to continue to engage with the app and the program’s activities and may therefore have been less likely to get recruited into the study. It’s hard to know how selection bias may or may not have influenced these results, but its possible bias inflated the observed associations.
Prior research has emphasized the importance of social support in recovery from substance use disorder, showing that engaging in meaningful, prosocial and rewarding activities and forming connections with others in recovery tends to improve recovery outcomes. The current study builds on this by identifying specific relationship characteristics—such as being a mentor, a fellow community member, etc. —that are most strongly associated with perceived support in a newer recovery support service.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the overall structure of a person’s network—such as how interconnected their contacts were or how many in their network were also in recovery—did not appear to significantly influence the amount of support perceived. Despite the fact that people in recovery provided more support than those who were not, the overall percent of one’s network in recovery was not associated with overall perceived support. This suggests that, for this self-selected sample of Phoenix members, the strength and nature of individual relationships may be more important than the broader configuration of one’s social network when it comes to fostering recovery support.
This study suggests that certain kinds of social supports—particularly mentors and peers in recovery —are experienced as most supportive of addiction recovery. Further, perceived support appeared to grow with time participating in The Phoenix, which may be another way of measuring time in recovery, overall. Finally, findings suggested that fostering meaningful, recovery-oriented relationships may be more impactful than simply increasing the size or density of one’s social network. While these findings are not novel, per se, they provide needed information on recovery processes in newer recovery supports like The Phoenix.
Patterson, M. S., Francis, A. N., Pew, S. H., Liu, S., Kang, Z., Heinrich, K. M., & Prochnow, T. (2025). Exploring support provision for recovery from substance use disorder among members of a sober active community. Scientific Reports, 15(8740). doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92029-1.
l
Although it is widely recognized that social support plays an important role in recovery from substance use disorder and other mental health problems, there is limited understanding of the specific types of relationships that matter most. In mutual-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), people benefit from participation, in part, by the AA-specific social support they receive. That said, among newer non-AA recovery support services it remains unclear whether support from peers who are also in recovery, mentors, members of shared communities, or family tend to be the most impactful. Like mutual-help groups, recovery support services are also thought to work, in part, by linking people with recovery-specific social support. In this study, the researchers examined perceptions of addiction recovery support among members of The Phoenix, a recovery community that emphasizes connection through shared, sober social activities. Specifically, they explored which social supports were on average perceived as most supportive of recovery, as well as how Phoenix participation influenced perceptions of support.
This was a cross-sectional study with 79 Phoenix members that explored which characteristics of Phoenix participation and what kinds of social connections influenced perceived addiction recovery support. The graphic below contains more information about Phoenix.
Phoenix members were invited to participate in this study through The Phoenix app (known as “NewForm”). Participants completed an online questionnaire capturing demographic details, recovery history, and their involvement with the organization. Those who completed the survey were invited to participate in a virtual interview, during which they mapped out their personal social networks.
The researchers utilized egocentric social network analysis to understand the structure and dynamics of each participant’s recovery-related relationships. In this approach, participants were asked to identify key individuals in their lives—both supportive of, or potentially harmful to their recovery—and provided information about each person’s role, recovery status, and involvement with The Phoenix. The researchers also assessed how interconnected these individuals were with one another.
The researchers used the survey and network analysis data to produce the following measures: 1) duration of Phoenix attendance, 2) frequency of Phoenix attendance, 3) if identified other was a relative (yes or no), 4) if identified other was a mentor (yes or no), 5) if identified other was in addiction recovery (yes or no), 6) if identified other was also a Phoenix member (yes or no), 7) participant’s social network size, 8) participant’s social network density, and 9) proportion of social network members also in addiction recovery.
These measures were then tested for association with perceived recovery support provided by important others, after accounting for participants’ demographic characteristics.
The study sample consisted of active members of The Phoenix. Participants were on average 38 years old, with nearly equal representation of men (48%) and women (46%), and a small proportion identifying as non-binary. The majority of participants identified as non-Hispanic White (76%), with smaller percentages identifying as Hispanic or Latinx (14%), Black or African American (3%), and other racial or multiracial backgrounds.
Participants reported varying lengths of involvement with The Phoenix, with about 29% having joined within the past 6 months and others reporting up to 5 or more years of participation. Most attended group-based activities 1 to 2 times per week. On average, each participant identified just over 9 individuals in their personal support networks, with roughly 39% of those network members also being in recovery.
Time with The Phoenix and relationships with more experienced people in recovery mattered most
Participants who had been involved with The Phoenix for a longer period tended to perceive greater support from the people in their social networks. The individuals seen as offering the most support tended to be those who served as mentors, were themselves in recovery, or were also members of The Phoenix (see Graph below).Though it is not clear what proportion of friends in the graph below were also in recovery, it is likely that, of the people in their network who were in recovery (one-third of all relationships), many were concentrated amongst their friends rather than other people (e.g., parent, spouse, etc.).
Network structure measures were not associated with perceived support
Notably, broader characteristics of participants’ networks—such as how interconnected their contacts were or how many important others were in addiction recovery—did not markedly influence the level of perceived support. This suggests that the quality and nature of individual relationships may matter more to one’s perceived recovery support than the overall structure of one’s support network.
The researchers found that individuals who had been involved with The Phoenix for a longer time tended to report greater support from people in their social circles. Those seen as offering the highest levels of support were often mentors, peers who were also in recovery, or fellow members of The Phoenix community.
It is perhaps not surprising that greater time involved with The Phoenix was associated with greater perceived social support, as this may be a proxy for more time in recovery, overall –social bonds and the support they provide tend to build over time. This echoes previous studies indicating the importance of reshaping one’s social network to enhancing addiction recovery, and the time this can take. This finding should, however, be considered in light of possible selection bias effects that can be hard to avoid in studies like this. Individuals not getting support from The Phoenix may have been less likely to continue to engage with the app and the program’s activities and may therefore have been less likely to get recruited into the study. It’s hard to know how selection bias may or may not have influenced these results, but its possible bias inflated the observed associations.
Prior research has emphasized the importance of social support in recovery from substance use disorder, showing that engaging in meaningful, prosocial and rewarding activities and forming connections with others in recovery tends to improve recovery outcomes. The current study builds on this by identifying specific relationship characteristics—such as being a mentor, a fellow community member, etc. —that are most strongly associated with perceived support in a newer recovery support service.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the overall structure of a person’s network—such as how interconnected their contacts were or how many in their network were also in recovery—did not appear to significantly influence the amount of support perceived. Despite the fact that people in recovery provided more support than those who were not, the overall percent of one’s network in recovery was not associated with overall perceived support. This suggests that, for this self-selected sample of Phoenix members, the strength and nature of individual relationships may be more important than the broader configuration of one’s social network when it comes to fostering recovery support.
This study suggests that certain kinds of social supports—particularly mentors and peers in recovery —are experienced as most supportive of addiction recovery. Further, perceived support appeared to grow with time participating in The Phoenix, which may be another way of measuring time in recovery, overall. Finally, findings suggested that fostering meaningful, recovery-oriented relationships may be more impactful than simply increasing the size or density of one’s social network. While these findings are not novel, per se, they provide needed information on recovery processes in newer recovery supports like The Phoenix.
Patterson, M. S., Francis, A. N., Pew, S. H., Liu, S., Kang, Z., Heinrich, K. M., & Prochnow, T. (2025). Exploring support provision for recovery from substance use disorder among members of a sober active community. Scientific Reports, 15(8740). doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92029-1.
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