Protocol for a Systematic Review: Recovery Schools for Improving Well‐Being among Students in Recovery from Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

Abstract

In support of this contention, addiction literature has documented different relapse precipitants for adolescents than for adults, with adolescents more likely to relapse under social pressure and also exhibiting greater complexity in relapse patterns (Ramo & Brown, 2008). Adolescents often use multiple substances and may use a broader array of substances than adults (Deas et al., 2000). Although not all experimentation with substances leads to problematic use, problematic use can transition to a substance use disorder (SUD), i.e., "a maladaptive pattern of substance use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress" (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Substance abuse and dependence were originally diagnosed separately with substance abuse considered an early phase and dependence the more severe manifestation; however, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-V (DSM-V) modified the definition of an SUD to combine abuse and dependence into one category with different levels (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). An SUD is manifested in multiple ways, including substance use that repeatedly impacts school or work performance or contributes to legal problems. Individuals with an SUD demonstrate an increasing need for more of the substance to achieve the same effect (i.e., tolerance) and taking the substance for longer or in larger doses and experience unsuccessful attempts to quit using the substance. Thus, recovery from an SUD is a process involving many factors, the hallmark of which is reduction or complete abstinence of use. Recovery also refers to overall healthy functioning and has been defined as "voluntarily sustained control over substance use, which maximises health and wellbeing and participation in the rights, roles and responsibilities of society" (UK Drug Policy Commission, 2012). Approaches for Addressing Youth in Recovery from Substance Use Disorders Given the biological, psychological, and social developmental changes in adolescence, it is important to attend to distinct developmental issues of adolescence when focusing on adolescents in recovery (Weisz & Hawley, 2002). Thus, for youth diagnosed with an SUD there are a variety of adolescent-specific treatment options available, which fall within a spectrum of varying intensity from early intervention, such as screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT: Bien, Miller, & Tonigan, 1993; Madras et al., 2009) to intensive inpatient treatment (American Society of Addiction Medicine [ASAM], 2013). However, SUDs are often experienced as chronic conditions; thus, multiple treatment episodes and ongoing recovery supports after treatment are often necessary to assist with the recovery process (

Recovery schools for improving behavioral and academic outcomes among students in recovery from substance use disorders: a systematic review

“…The methods for this systematic review are based on the protocol published in the Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews ( Hennessy, Tanner‐Smith, Finch, Sathe, & Potter, 2017 ). The protocol can be accessed at https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/library/recovery‐schools‐students‐in‐recovery‐from‐substance‐use.html…”