1. Pathways to Sustainable Recovery: Unpacking the Roles of Subjective Happiness, Daily Spiritual Experiences, and Social Support in Abstinent Substance Users.
- Author
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Mathur, Rahul, Sharma, Panna, Kaur, Apinderjit, Kukreja, Sarthak, Lal, Rakesh, Sarkar, Siddharth, and Sen, Mahadev Singh
- Abstract
Introduction: Substance use disorders are a global public health concern, necessitating a deeper understanding of the factors influencing sustainable recovery. This study investigates the roles of various factors influencing the recovery journey of abstinent substance users. By unravelling the roles of subjective happiness, daily spiritual experiences, and social support, we aim to contribute valuable knowledge to the fields of addiction research and social psychiatry. Methods: The study involves 150 male participants, aged 18-72 years, who have successfully abstained from substance use. Sociodemographic and clinical data of adult males with a diagnosis of opioid dependence or alcohol dependence were collected. Daily spiritual experiences, recovery capital, subjective happiness, and social support were evaluated using a validated DSE questionnaire, recovery capital Questionnaire, standardized subjective happiness Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, respectively. Mediating/moderating analysis was studied using model 5 of Hayes' Process Macros. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained prior to initiating the study. Results: All 150 participants (100 opioid dependence, 50 alcohol dependence) had high substance use severity. The mean age was 39.8 years (±11.7). The mean age of onset of substance use was 21.6 years (±6.7), while onset of substance dependence was 24.8 years (±8.3), with an average duration of abstinence of 20 months. The correlation between social support and recovery capital was statistically significant and strong (r = 0.6, p < .001). Similarly, subjective happiness was positively correlated with both social support (r = 0.4, p < .001) and recovery capital (r = 0.5, p < .001), indicating that individuals reporting higher subjective happiness also tend to have greater social support and recovery capital (Table 1). Social support emerged as a significant predictor of recovery capital (ß = 0.55, p < .001), explaining approximately 29.7% of the variance in recovery capital. Subjective happiness partially (complimentary) mediated 18% of the variance in the relationship between social support and recovery capital (p < .001), with an indirect effect of 0.1585 (0.096-0.2327; p < .001). Daily spiritual experiences moderated the relationship between social support and recovery capital (ß = -0.008, p = .036) at both high and low daily spiritual experiences scores, and this significance was prominent when daily spiritual experiences scores exceeds 21.3 (Figure 1). Conclusion: These findings highlight intricate pathways to sustainable recovery. This emphasizes the role of positive emotional states in recovery and conditional effect of spirituality on recovery. These insights have implications for tailored interventions and support systems to enhance recovery outcomes, promote long-term abstinence, optimizing addiction treatment and recovery programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024