Chapter 10

Abstract

The current study found that African American residents of Oxford House (OH) used Narcotics Anonymous (NA) at high rates, and that both OH and NA strongly contributed to abstinent social networks. Having siblings and other family members in one's network predicted substance use among network members, whereas spouses, parents, and children did not have an effect on the rate of substance use. These findings suggest that OH and NA may be effective sources of abstinent social support for African Americans recovering from substance abuse. However, family members are well represented in the support networks of African Americans in OH.

Ethnic and Gender Differences in Help Seeking for Substance Disorders Among Black Americans

“…Our findings are similar to previous NSAL findings on general service use for mental health disorders that found that African Americans were more likely to use informal help compared to Caribbean Blacks [22]. Other studies have found that Black substance users utilize self-help groups at higher rates, while additional reports indicate there is little difference in the frequency of utilization compared to other racial/ethnic groups, including non-Hispanic Whites [31-34]. Kaskutas and colleagues indicate that self-help groups might be more attractive to Black substance users because they are free and do not require insurance [32].…”

Residents of mutual help recovery homes, characteristics and outcomes: Comparison of four US ethnic subgroups

“…African Americans are well-represented in Oxford Houses in various regions of the U.S. and their outcomes appear to be similar to those of Caucasians (Bishop et al, 1998; Flynn, et al, 2006). However, other ethnic groups such as Hispanics/Latinos, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and AIs are not as well-represented in this program (Alvarez, Jason, Davis, Ferrari, & Olson, 2004; Jason, Davis, et al, 2007).…”

Counteracting “Not in My Backyard”: the positive effects of greater occupancy within mutual‐help recovery homes

“…Oxford House residents rated “fellowship with similar peers” the most important aspect of living in an Oxford House (Jason, Ferrari, Dvorchak, Groessl, & Malloy, 1997). The Oxford House experience also provides residents with abstinent-specific social support networks consisting of other residents in recovery (Flynn, Alvarez, Jason, Olson, Ferrari, & Davis, 2006). Individuals who spent more time in an Oxford House had a greater sense of community with others in recovery, less support for substance use (Davis & Jason, 2005), and more support for abstinence (Majer, Jason, Ferrari, Venable, & Olson, 2002).…”