Addictive Behaviors
James Broussard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Jackson State University
Ridgeland, Mississippi
Jana Fleet, M.S.
Doctoral Student
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
Shanteria Brock, M.S.
Doctoral Student
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
Joseph McBride, B.S.
Doctoral Student
Jackson State University
Jackson, Missouri
Monica Miller, None
Undergraduate Student
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
Jessica Johnson, None
Undergraduate Student
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
Drug overdose deaths have more than tripled in the last decade, addiction to alcohol alone costs the U.S. economy over $250 billion every year, and a substantial number of individuals with depression or anxiety disorders also show signs of a substance use disorder. Rates of behavioral addictions such as problem gambling are increasing as well. Another issue in the field of addictions treatment is that many individuals with addictive disorders do not seek treatment or struggle to access effective treatments. Barriers to care such as limited time and resources, long distances to reach qualified treatment providers, and lack of engagement have been offered as reasons for poor service utilization, and these obstacles disproportionately affect low SES individuals. Furthermore, these difficulties have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many organizations reducing their hours of operation. Thus, the field of addictions needs effective treatment that are widely available and address known barriers to care.
Recovery-Based Relapse Prevention (RBRP) is an open-format group approach designed to address these issues by 1) offering increased flexibility for attendance and participation to low-income and rural group members, 2) being tailored to the competencies of a wider range of professionals than traditional psychotherapy groups (in order to increase the prevalence of group offerings), and 3) integrating a number of digital self-help resources to expand access to primary treatment components within and outside of groups (e.g., progress tracking, psychoeducation, skills, and support resources). This group approach uses models consistent with holistic care, such as the biopsychosocial spiritual model, and relies on widely cited principles of recovery to address the relapse prevention goals of its members. This includes tracking group members use of various recovery strategies on a weekly basis to include the utility of strategies as well as their ongoing mastery of different strategies. The RBRP approach also uses a symptom tracking approach in which members’ relapse risk potential is tracked and discussed in group. Through such discussions, group members are able to identify their relapse risk and also skills, strategies, and supports they can add to a recovery plan.
In the current study, we will conduct qualitative data analysis to assess the frequency of use for varying recovery strategies using pilot data as well as additional data from an ongoing single-group pilot on the RBRP approach. First, we will categorize the recovery strategies reported by group members into the domains of biological, psychological, social, and spiritual strategies using a taxonomy created by the researchers. Next, we will assess the frequency of individual strategies as well as overall frequencies according to the classifications made within each domain. Finally, we will engage in descriptive analysis of scores for each domain and primary study outcomes including frequency of use and urges. This information will provide context to which recovery strategy domains are used most frequently by individuals in early recovery from addictive disorders.