Poster Title
Most Important Activities of Ex-Offender Substance Abusers after Committing to Sobriety
Faculty Sponsor, if applicable
Dr. Ronald Harvey
Project Abstract
Few studies have examined the activities of substance abusers who have recently committed to sobriety. This study focuses on description of important activities and changes over time with ex-offender, substance abusers transitioning out of an inpatient program. Participants were randomly assigned to Oxford House, therapeutic community, or usual aftercare. Using the Important People and Activities instrument, the 10 most important activities of 270 participants were recorded for two years in six month intervals for five “waves” of data. Descriptive analysis for waves one, three, and five was conducted. Z scores were computed to test differences in population proportions of activities listed between waves and conditions. Results indicated significant differences between subjects and within subjects over time for education/ work, reading/ writing/ solitary, exercise/ sports, interacting with others, recovery, and entertainment. Descriptive results also demonstrated that reading/ writing/ solitary and exercise/ sports activities were most reported at wave one. At wave five, education/ work and interacting with others were the most reported activities. The implications of these findings is that reading, writing, solitary and exercise activities may play a critical role in early sobriety.
Preview
Presentation Year
May 2016