Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes
Background: Sober living houses (SLHs) offer abstinence-based housing for people in recovery. Studies have shown that these supportive environments are associated with positive outcomes, yet little is known about why residents choose SLHs and their relationship to recovery outcomes. Methods: Longitu...
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Addictive Behaviors Reports |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853224000348 |
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| author | Elizabeth Mahoney Meenakshi Subbaraman Amy A. Mericle Douglas L. Polcin |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Mahoney Meenakshi Subbaraman Amy A. Mericle Douglas L. Polcin |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Mahoney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Sober living houses (SLHs) offer abstinence-based housing for people in recovery. Studies have shown that these supportive environments are associated with positive outcomes, yet little is known about why residents choose SLHs and their relationship to recovery outcomes. Methods: Longitudinal data were collected from SLH residents who completed an interview six months after baseline (N = 462). Participants rated the importance of eight reasons for choosing SLHs. Multilevel models assessed whether reasons for choosing were associated with outcomes abstinence on the Timeline Followback, psychiatric distress via the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ), employment problems severity on Addiction Severity Index (ASI), and length of stay (LOS). Results: The most frequently cited reasons residents chose SLHs were affordability (74.4 %) and wanting to live with others in recovery (63.2 %). Reasons for choosing were not associated with neither LOS nor abstinence, except for not wanting to live with others in recovery predicting abstinence from all drugs except marijuana. Choosing SLHs due to affordability was associated with less psychiatric distress; no other place to live was associated with increased psychiatric distress (Ps < 0.05). Severity of employment problems was associated with choosing SLHs based on location, transportation, and someone else paying fees (Ps < 0.01). Conclusion: Residents seek entry into SLHs to live affordably with others in recovery. Those who had no other option had greater psychiatric distress, thus supporting findings of housing instability being related to mental health. Reasons for choosing related to employment problems severity may reflect how concerns about employment impact housing choices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a5a2cafabb8f4b7dbe2ed75bece854a8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2352-8532 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Addictive Behaviors Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-a5a2cafabb8f4b7dbe2ed75bece854a82025-08-20T02:39:31ZengElsevierAddictive Behaviors Reports2352-85322024-12-012010055710.1016/j.abrep.2024.100557Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomesElizabeth Mahoney0Meenakshi Subbaraman1Amy A. Mericle2Douglas L. Polcin3Behavioral Health and Recovery Studies, Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA, United States; Corresponding author.Behavioral Health and Recovery Studies, Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA, United StatesAlcohol Research Group, Public Health Institute, Emeryville, CA, United StatesBehavioral Health and Recovery Studies, Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA, United StatesBackground: Sober living houses (SLHs) offer abstinence-based housing for people in recovery. Studies have shown that these supportive environments are associated with positive outcomes, yet little is known about why residents choose SLHs and their relationship to recovery outcomes. Methods: Longitudinal data were collected from SLH residents who completed an interview six months after baseline (N = 462). Participants rated the importance of eight reasons for choosing SLHs. Multilevel models assessed whether reasons for choosing were associated with outcomes abstinence on the Timeline Followback, psychiatric distress via the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ), employment problems severity on Addiction Severity Index (ASI), and length of stay (LOS). Results: The most frequently cited reasons residents chose SLHs were affordability (74.4 %) and wanting to live with others in recovery (63.2 %). Reasons for choosing were not associated with neither LOS nor abstinence, except for not wanting to live with others in recovery predicting abstinence from all drugs except marijuana. Choosing SLHs due to affordability was associated with less psychiatric distress; no other place to live was associated with increased psychiatric distress (Ps < 0.05). Severity of employment problems was associated with choosing SLHs based on location, transportation, and someone else paying fees (Ps < 0.01). Conclusion: Residents seek entry into SLHs to live affordably with others in recovery. Those who had no other option had greater psychiatric distress, thus supporting findings of housing instability being related to mental health. Reasons for choosing related to employment problems severity may reflect how concerns about employment impact housing choices.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853224000348Sober living housesRecoveryMental healthEmploymentAffordable housing |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Mahoney Meenakshi Subbaraman Amy A. Mericle Douglas L. Polcin Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes Addictive Behaviors Reports Sober living houses Recovery Mental health Employment Affordable housing |
| title | Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes |
| title_full | Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes |
| title_fullStr | Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes |
| title_short | Reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes |
| title_sort | reasons for choosing sober living houses and their associations with substance use recovery outcomes |
| topic | Sober living houses Recovery Mental health Employment Affordable housing |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352853224000348 |
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