Physical Disability and Substance Use Disorders: A Convergence of Adaptation and Recovery

Abstract

This article explores issues related to substance use disorders in persons with physical disabilities and the commonalities of the parallel research in recovery and adaptation to disability. An approach for converging these areas of research is presented. Parallel research in substance abuse counseling and rehabilitation counseling reveals that quality of life is an indicator of both adaptation to disability and recovery from substance use disorders. Despite this common outcome, the interaction of adapting to a disability and recovery from a substance use disorder has not been adequately addressed in the literature. A more integrative approach to counseling individuals with disabilities may be achieved with a better understanding of the complex relationship between quality of life, adaptation to disability, and substance use disorder. A converged approach to research is discussed in relation to the development of counseling interventions that improve the quality of life of persons with physical disabilities.

Economic Stressors and Alcohol-Related Outcomes: Exploring Gender Differences in the Mediating Role of Somatic Complaints

“…This oversight is further emphasized by research demonstrating a high comorbidity between physical health complaints and alcohol-related difficulties, particularly among men 18, 19, 20 . Given the host of negative consequences associated with comorbid physical health and alcohol-related problems, including greater poverty, the loss of self-care abilities, and an increase in medical complications 21, 22, 23 , further understanding of the linkage between somatic complaints and alcohol use, and antecedents such as economic strain, seems critical.…”

Functional Limitation, Pain, and Alcohol Use: Exploring Gender Differences in the Mediating Role of Depressive Symptoms

“…*significant at .05; ***significant at .001. Smedema, 2011;Turner et al, 2006), specifying that both greater functional limitation and bodily pain are associated with a tendency to drink more-and more problematically-over time. Further, this investigation addressed the mechanisms through which these physical health indicators and alcohol-related outcomes are linked by addressing two questions: The first is the question of whether or to what extent depressive symptoms mediate the associations among functional limitation, bodily pain, and the alcohol-related outcomes of past-month drinking and problematic drinking (Hypothesis 1).…”

“…Although the majority of research on the mental health consequences of physical disability has been devoted to understanding the linkages between disability and psychological distress (Brown & Turner, 2010;Mirowsky & Ross, 1999;Nosek & Hughes, 2003), there is growing recognition that disability is also directly linked with alcohol use and alcohol use disorders (Brown et al, 2014;Corrigan & Bogner, 2007;Ebener & Smedema, 2011;Turner et al, 2006). Indeed, given the host of negative consequences associated with comorbid physical health and alcohol-related problems, including greater poverty, the loss of self-care abilities, and an increase in medical complications (Bombardier & Rimmele, 1998;Heinemann & Hawkins, 1995;Tate et al, 2004), further understanding of the linkages between physical disability and alcohol use seems crucial.…”

“…Given that men are consistently found to drink more than women and experience more alcohol-related problems (Brown & Richman, 2012;Horwitz & White, 1987;Palfai et al, 2007;Richman et al, 2002) and because there is some indication that physical health complaints are associated with a greater prevalence of alcohol-related difficulties among men (Corrigan & Bogner, 2007;Ebener & Smedema, 2011;Turner et al, 2006), particular attention is paid to whether-or to what extent-any observed associations among the indicators of physical disability, depressive symptoms, and alcohol-related outcomes vary by gender. Tests of the indirect and conditional effects of physical disability and depressive symptoms on alcoholrelated outcomes are integrated into a parsimonious structural equation model.…”

‘They don't look at what affects us’: the role of ecodevelopmental factors on alcohol and drug use among Latinos with physical disabilities

“…Persons with physical disabilities are disproportionately impacted by alcohol and drug use (Ebener and Smedema, 2011; Smedema and Ebener, 2010). Alcohol and drug abuse rates among persons with disabilities in the U.S. are estimated to be between 20% and 40%, as compared to approximately 10% in the general U.S. population (U.S.…”