Abstract

Social identities associated with recovery are protective of relapse from addiction. How such identities develop and differentially link to outcomes at different points of the recovery journey and across multiple recovery attempts is relatively unknown. The current study utilised a pre-existing cross-sectional dataset (n = 237 Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) members, 50% male, 49.4% female and 0.6% female-to-male, aged between 19 and 71 years) to explore these issues. Relationships between AA identity, quit efficacy (a proxy for recovery maintenance) and AA meeting attendance (over the last month) were tested. The moderating effects of length of AA attendance during the current recovery episode and first vs. subsequent quit attempts on the identity-efficacy link were also tested. Levels of social identity were stable amongst those in the early in their current recovery through to those who have more experience, but the relationships between identity and efficacy differed. While those early on in their current AA attendance showed a positive relationship between identities and frequency of attending meetings, those with more long-standing attendance reported social identification unrelated to involvement. Our results suggest that social identities may be particularly protective for those who are on their first quit, suggesting recovery formation and transition may be a priority.

摘要

与康复相关的社会身份可以防止成瘾复发。在恢复过程的不同点和多次恢复尝试中，这些身份如何发展并与结果有差异地联系起来，还相对未知。当前的研究利用了预先存在的横截面数据集（n = 237 名戒酒匿名 (AA) 成员，50% 男性，49.4% 女性和 0.6% 女性对男性，年龄在 19 至 71 岁之间）来探讨这些问题。测试了 AA 身份、戒烟效果（恢复维持的代理）和 AA 会议出席率（过去一个月）之间的关系。还测试了当前恢复期以及第一次与随后的戒烟尝试期间 AA 出勤时间对身份-效力链接的调节作用。从目前康复的早期到经验丰富的人，社会认同水平是稳定的，但认同和效能之间的关系不同。虽然那些早期参加 AA 会议的人在身份和参加会议的频率之间表现出积极的关系，那些长期出席的人报告了与参与无关的社会认同。我们的结果表明，社会身份可能对那些第一次戒烟的人特别有保护作用，这表明恢复形成和过渡可能是一个优先事项。