Characteristics of Students Participating in Collegiate Recovery Programs: A National Survey

Abstract

Relapse rates are high among individuals with substance use disorders (SUD), and for young people pursuing a college education, the high rates of substance use on campus can jeopardize recovery. Collegiate Recovery Programs (CRPs) are an innovative campus-based model of recovery support that is gaining popularity but remains under-investigated. This study reports on the first nationwide survey of CRP-enrolled students (N = 486 from 29 different CRPs). Using an online survey, we collected information on background, SUD and recovery history, and current functioning. Most students (43% females, mean age = 26) had used multiple substances, had high levels of SUD severity, high rates of treatment and 12-step participation. Fully 40% smoke. Many reported criminal justice involvement and periods of homelessness. Notably, many reported being in recovery from, and currently engaging in multiple behavioral addictions-e.g., eating disorders, and sex and love addiction. Findings highlight the high rates of co-occurring addictions in this under-examined population and underline the need for treatment, recovery support programs and college health services to provide integrated support for mental health and behavioral addictions to SUD-affected young people.

Expanding the reach of alcohol and other drug services: Prevalence and correlates of US adult engagement with online technology to address substance problems

“…Given the possibility that participants may have been confused by this distinction, analyses emphasized ROOT more generally, rather than separate online resources. Finally, we determined history of internet addiction from participant response to an item querying problem behaviors used in prior recovery research (Laudet et al, 2015). The item did not define internet addiction for participants, however.…”

“…Participants indicated whether they ever had a problem with “internet addiction (other than for sex, gambling or shopping)” in their lifetime as part of a list of seven possible problem behaviors (Laudet, Harris, Kimball, Winters, & Moberg, 2015). …”

Tens of millions successfully in long‐term recovery—let us find out how they did it

“…These include recovery community centers, sober cafes and sober physical activity organizations (e.g. Phoenix Multisport), freely available recovery mutual-help resources [7], sober living environments [8] and recovery high schools and collegiate recovery programs [9][10][11]. These entities are intended to engage and support more people in SUD recovery by making these environments and activities more accessible, attractive and rewarding.…”

In college and in recovery: Reasons for joining a Collegiate Recovery Program

“…The sample is described in details elsewhere 30 and key characteristics are summarized here to provide context for interpreting findings about reasons for CRP enrollment. Participants were 43% female with a mean age of 26 (range = 17 to 58, Mdn = 23).…”

“…The mixed methods instrument consisted of qualitative items described later, and standardized measures the research team has used in several other federally funded studies. 27-29 These measures are described in details in a recent article bearing on this sample 30 and summarized below:…”