Factors Associated with Recovery Housing Availability for Individuals Involved in the Carceral System.

Substance use and carceral system involvement are often connected, highlighting the need for services that support recovery from substance use disorders (SUD) among those leaving carceral facilities. Recovery housing offers both housing and recovery support. However, no prior study has examined whether recovery housing and carceral facilities are co-located.

Social Environment and Personality Factors Associated with Giving and Receiving Help Among Sober Living House Residents.

-The current study sought to identify social, environment and personality factors associated with giving and receiving help among 205 sober living house (SLH) residents in Los Angeles. Study measures included the Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI), the Recovery Home Environment Scale (RHES), and six scales assessing giving and receiving help in three contexts: SLHs, 12-step meetings, and family/friends. Regression models showed the strength of the social model recovery environment (measured by the RHES) and three personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, and extraversion) were predictors of helping in different contexts.

How to measure the effectiveness of recovery community centers: insights gained from a nationwide survey of directors of RCCs.

Objective: Recovery community centers (RCCs) are a rapidly growing source of support for many Americans seeking or in recovery from substance use disorder. Research that examines the effectiveness of RCCs is critically needed. Determining how the "effectiveness" of RCCs ought to be measured, however, is challenging, because RCCs seek to confer benefits on multiple levels and because recovery is a multi-faceted construct.

Second-wave mutual-help groups: Examining effectiveness for individuals with alcohol use disorders in the longitudinal, U.S. national PAL Study cohorts.

Background: Second-wave mutual-help groups (MHGs) for addiction (e.g., SMART Recovery) are prevalent and promising, but limited studies have examined their effectiveness.

A roadmap for maximizing the use and effectiveness of recovery housing for individuals prescribed medications for opiate use disorders.

Introduction: Safe and stable housing is increasingly recognized as critical to recovery from alcohol and drug use disorders, but research on the outcomes of residents in recovery from opioid use disorder (OUD), particularly those prescribed medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), is limited.

Methods: This article presents results from an informal survey ( = 15) and discussion with experts in the recovery housing and OUD treatment fields serving as Advisory Board members on the Infrastructure for Studying Treatment and Addiction Recovery Residences (I-STARR) project regarding priorities for research and training on recovery housing for individuals prescribed MOUD. Drawing on the results, we provide a roadmap to establish an evidence base on recovery housing for those prescribed MOUD.

Comparing recovery community centers (RCCs) serving Black, Hispanic/Latino, and other communities: an exploratory secondary data analysis of a nationwide survey of RCC directors.

Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities exist in opioid-related overdose death rates and engagement with substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. Emerging peer recovery support services (PRSS) show promise in engaging and supporting marginalized populations. Recovery community centers (RCCs) are an important and growing source of community-based PRSS.

Recovery housing and on-the-ground research priorities: a scoping study through the lens of community based participatory research.

Introduction: Though communities have featured recovery housing (RH) for several decades, the base of evidence for best practices continues to grow - especially evidence needed by, and known to, those who operate and receive these services. The Initiative for Justice and Emerging Adult Populations (JEAP) engaged with three community boards (CBs) - consisting of young adults with experience in recovery from substance use issues, people who have a history of criminal legal system involvement and recovery, and payers and provider of substance use services and harm reduction - to understand on-the-ground priorities for research into recovery support services.

Methods: JEAP engaged with the CBs using community-based participatory research, resulting in 12 overarching categories of research priorities, including RH.

Reasons for Leaving Sober Living Houses and Their Associations with Substance Use, Psychiatric, and Housing Outcomes.

Background: Sober living houses (SLHs) offer abstinence-based housing for individuals with alcohol or drug problems. Research shows residents of SLHs make improvements on measures of substance use and other problems. Length of stay (LOS) in the house is associated with outcomes.

The use of online methods to recruit and follow a hard-to-reach population in the Peer Alternatives for Addiction Study 2021 Cohort.

Background: Although studies are increasingly adopting online protocols, few such studies in the addiction field have comprehensively described their data review procedures and successes in detecting low-quality/fraudulent data. The current study describes data collection protocols and outcomes of a large, longitudinal study (the PAL Study 2021) that implemented online design elements to study individuals seeking peer support for an alcohol use disorder.

Methods: In 2021, the PAL Study collaborated with mutual-help group (MHG) partners and recovery-related organizations to recruit individuals attending a 12-step group, Women for Sobriety (WFS), LifeRing Secular Recovery, and/or SMART Recovery for an alcohol problem in-person and/or online in the prior 30 days.

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: Longitudinal data were collected from SLH residents who completed an interview six months after baseline (N = 462).

Resilience Through Social Support: An Intersectional Analysis of Sexual Minority Women's Social Resources for Wellbeing.

Sexual minority women (SMW) are at higher risk for a range of health conditions (e.g. depression, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder) than heterosexual women.

A Nationwide Survey Study of Recovery Community Centers Supporting People in Recovery From Substance Use Disorder.

Objective: The medical community has become aware of its role in contributing to the opioid epidemic and must be part of its resolution. Recovery community centers (RCCs) represent a new underused component of recovery support.

Methods: This study performed an online national survey of all RCCs identified in the United States, and used US Census ZIP code tabulation area data to describe the communities they serve.

Assessing a pilot scheme of intensive support and assertive linkage in levels of engagement, retention, and recovery capital for people in recovery housing using quasi-experimental methods.

Introduction: Strong and ever-growing evidence highlights the effectiveness of recovery housing in supporting and sustaining substance use disorder (SUD) recovery, especially when augmented by intensive support that includes assertive linkages to community services. This study aims to evaluate a pilot intensive recovery support (IRS) intervention for individuals (n = 175) entering certified Level II and III recovery residences. These individuals met at least three out of five conditions (no health insurance; no driving license; substance use in the last 14 days; current unemployment; possession of less than $75 capital).

Giving and Receiving Help among Persons Entering Sober Living Houses.

Giving and receiving help are integral to creating the social environments necessary to support recovery. However, studies assessing the effects of helping behaviors have focused primarily on the benefits derived from giving help to others in 12-step programs and treatment. The current study examined the frequency of giving and receiving help among 188 persons entering sober living houses (SLHs), a type of recovery home that is common in California.

Mapping COVID vulnerability in relation to drug and alcohol recovery residence availability across the United States.

Recovery housing is an important resource for those in recovery from substance use disorders. Unfortunately, we know little about its relationship to key community health risk and protective factors, potentially limiting the role it could play as a broader health resource. Leveraging county-level data on recovery residences from the National Study of Treatment and Addiction Recovery Residences (NSTARR), this study used multilevel modeling to examine Community COVID Vulnerability Index (CCVI) scores as well as availability of COVID testing and vaccination sites in relation to recovery housing.

Social Model Recovery and Recovery Housing.

Recovery housing is an important resource for many in their recovery from alcohol and other drug use disorders. Yet providers of recovery housing face a number of challenges. Many of these challenges are rooted in stigma and bias about recovery housing.

Disparities in Alcoholics Anonymous Participation from 2000 to 2020 Among U.S. Residents With an Alcohol Use Disorder in the National Alcohol Survey.

Objective: Mutual-help groups (MHGs) like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are effective for resolving alcohol use disorders (AUDs), but few studies have examined disparities in MHG participation, particularly recently. We used five waves of National Alcohol Survey data to investigate whether prevalence of AA attendance among those with a lifetime AUD differed by race/ethnicity, age, and sex, directly testing whether these associations varied with time.

Method: Analyses pooled weighted data from 2000 to 2020, including only participants with a lifetime AUD and identifying as non-Hispanic White, Latinx/Hispanic, or non-Hispanic Black/African American ( = 8,876).

Multilevel Effects of Environmental and Neighborhood Factors on Sober Living House Resident 12-Month Outcomes.

Objective: Sober living houses (SLHs) are abstinence-based environments designed for individuals in recovery to live with others in recovery. Research shows that SLHs help some individuals maintain recovery and that certain SLH-related factors may be particularly protective. Here we assess how SLH housing and neighborhood characteristics are related to abstinence and psychiatric symptoms over time.

Outcomes Among Sober Living House Residents Who Relapse: Role of Recovery Capital.

Studies show individuals living in residential recovery homes on average make significant improvements in multiple areas of functioning. Residents who achieve and maintain complete abstinence have particularly good outcomes. Residents who relapse after entering the houses have been studied minimally.

Moving Social Model Recovery Forward: Recent Research on Sober Living Houses.

Social model recovery is a peer centered approach to alcohol and drug problems that is gaining increased attention. This approach is well-suited to services in residential settings and typically includes living in a shared alcohol- and drug-free living environment where residents give and receive personal and recovery support. Sober Living Houses (SLHs) are recovery residences that explicitly use a social model approach.

Development and initial findings from the Peer Recovery Coach (PRC) checklist: a new tool to assess the nature of peer recovery coaching service delivery.

Peer recovery coaching is recovery support service for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) that emphasizes shared lived experience and social support. Though a promising intervention for SUD, differences in the roles, responsibilities, and operationalization of peer recovery coaching across studies make objective implementation and evaluation of this service a challenge. This study sought to develop a tool to better guide and operationalize peer recovery coaching service delivery.

Do neighborhood characteristics of sober living houses impact recovery outcomes? A multilevel analysis of observational data from Los Angeles County.

Objective: To identify neighborhood factors associated with recovery outcomes for sober living house (SLH) residents.

Methods: Six-month longitudinal data for new SLH residents (n = 557) was linked with census tract data, services available, alcohol outlets, and Walk Scores® (0-100 score indicating access to neighborhood resources) for 48 SLHs in 44 neighborhoods in Los Angeles County.

Results: Non-significant neighborhood characteristics in separate regressions for all outcomes were residents' ratings of perceived risk, percentage of residences with access to a car, percentage of homes over $500,000, percentage of renter-occupied units, percentage with income less than $25,000, percentage that were non-white, the density of substance inpatient within 10 miles, and transit scores from Walk Score®.

Measuring Architecture in Recovery Homes: Recovery Home Architecture Scale.

: The settings where we live shape our daily experiences and interactions. Social environment and physical setting characteristics may be particularly important in communal living services, such as recovery homes for alcohol and drug disorders. : This paper describes the measurement and mobilization of architectural characteristics in one type of recovery home, sober living houses (SLHs).

Examining perceived effects of same-sex marriage legalization among sexual minority women: Identifying demographic differences and factors related to alcohol use disorder, depression, and self-perceived health.

Background: Reductions in structural stigma, such as gaining access to legalized same-sex marriage, is associated with positive psychological and physical health outcomes among sexual minorities. However, these positive outcomes may be less robust among sexual minority women (SMW).

Methods: This study examined how perceptions of the impact of legalized same-sex marriage among SMW may 1) differ by demographic characteristics and 2) predict alcohol use disorder, depression, and self-perceived health.

Corrigendum to 'Impact of the policy environment on substance use among sexual minority women'.

[This corrects the article PMC9262325.].