Collegiate Recovery Students and Programs: Literature Review from 1988-2017

Abstract

Objectives: To present a review of the existing research on college students living in recovery, including the research on students in recovery participating in collegiate recovery programs. 
 Methods: Studies were included if they: a) were peer-reviewed or archived dissertations, b) were published between 1988 and 2017, c) directly involved students in recovery on campus, either with or without involvement in a collegiate recovery program.
 Results: From 1988 to 2017, 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. These included 7 studies on students living in recovery within the general framework of higher education and 18 studies involving students in collegiate recovery programs. Qualitative reports and quantitative descriptive studies were both included. 
 Conclusions: Findings identify the gaps in currently available research, and support rationale for increasing longitudinal and quantitative studies of collegiate recovery programs and the students they serve.

Impact of social networks, mental health, and sobriety on exercise within a collegiate recovery community

“…Thus, it is possible that individuals who had been sober for longer periods of time also pursue healthy exercise habits -although due to the study design we are unsure whether these behaviors were adopted prior to or after pursuing recovery. Treatment interventions geared to address SUDs may benefit from implementing adjunctive exercise components, particularly social forms of exercise (e.g., CrossFit, yoga) which serve to promote the recovery goal for enhanced overall health and well-being (Brown et al, 2018;Weinstock et al, 2017).…”

“…CRCs accomplish this task by facilitating peer-to-peer social support between and among students in recovery, establishing 12-step groups/meetings on campus, and arranging sober leisure activities (Cleveland et al, 2007), among other services. Evaluations on CRCs have yielded promising results in that CRC members have consistently demonstrated low relapse rates (i.e., longer sobriety), in addition to GPAs and graduation rates well above the averages for the rest of the student body (Brown et al, 2018;Harris et al, 2008;Smock et al, 2011). While social influence and support has been evaluated as an important component of CRCs (Grahovac et al, 2011;Laitman et al, 2014), exercise -a behavior proven to facilitate recovery -has yet to be a studied within CRCs.…”

College programming for students in addiction recovery: A PRISMA-guided scoping review

“…Early CRP reviews have focused primarily on post-SUD treatment considerations (Morgan & Cavendish, 1988) and the recovery school movement (White & Finch, 2006). More recent literature reviews have focused on how CRPs t into the recoveryoriented system of care model (Bugbee et al, 2016;Harris, Baker, Kimball, & Shumway, 2008; and how CRPs help students succeed (Brown, Ashford, Heller, Whitney, & Kimball, 2018;Reed et al, 2020), However, none of these reviews was systematic. The two systematic reviews completed did not report any quantitative ndings related to CRPs (Ashford, Brown, Eisenhart, Thompson-Heller, & Curtis, 2018;Hennessey & Finch, 2018).…”

A Way of Life: Recovery as a Means of Addressing Substance Use Disorder

“…Finally, in the community dimension, individuals participate in relationships and social networks that foster sobriety and offer love, support, friendship, and hope. Each of these dimensions is noted as being important specifically for college students in recovery (Bassuk et al, 2016;Brown, Ashford, Heller, Whitney, & Kimball, 2018;Cleveland et al, 2007;Harris et al, 2011;Laitman & Lederman, 2007;Laudet et al, 2016).…”

“…To address the needs of students in recovery, an increasing number of institutions have developed collegiate recovery programs (CRPs), some of which include residential communities (Karlin-Resnick, 2004;Laudet, Harris, Kimball, Winters, & Moberg, 2014;Moore, 2012). Since the turn of the century, the number of institutions with collegiate recovery programs grew from four in 2000 to 33 in 2014 (Laudet et al, 2014) to an estimated 150 to 160 established or establishing programs in 2016 (Brown et al, 2018). These programs vary by institution but consistently offer on-campus peer recovery support (Laudet et al, 2016).…”