Abstract:
Substance use in America remains a public health crisis, especially given the ongoing opioid epidemic and an alarming spike in overdose related deaths. Institutions of higher education have a unique opportunity to provide realistic measures of sustained substance use disorder (SUD) recovery through collegiate recovery programs (CRP) that employ recovery-informed procedures to support and sustain sobriety. This quantitative study examines and provides an analysis of the impact of a CRP at a large Georgia university from the perspective of the recovering student while immersed in an abstinence-hostile environment, such as a college campus. The primary aim of this research is to use statistical analysis to establish how an inclusive support system can empower a person to sustain SUD recovery. Despite a small sample size, the study yields significant evidence to support CRPs even though the sample size makes it difficult to generalize the results to the general population. Based on findings from this and existing CRP research, the results illustrate how institutional and social support have a significant impact on a person in SUD recovery, which can assist in developing public and private holistic recovery programs.
Keywords: sustained recovery, substance use disorder, collegiate recovery program, support system