Differences in addiction and recovery gains according to gender – gender barriers and specific differences in overall strengths growth

Background

The necessity of a gendered understanding of recovery is becoming increasingly evident. There have been reports of gender disparities in the character and amount of substance use, the paths to and through substance use disorder, and the acquisition and maintenance of recovery capital. There is virtually little study on the elements that influence recovery capital growth by gender.

Methods

The current study examines certain categories of the Strengths and Barriers Recovery Scale (SABRS) that best predict recovery capital growth among people in recovery from drug addiction using the European Life in Recovery database. The 1313 participants were taken from the REC-PATH research and recruited from all throughout Europe via the Recovery Users Network (RUN). Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to find connections between individual SABRS items and gender, as well as differences in the SABRS scale aspects most likely to predict recovery capital increase by gender.

Results

Between their time in active addiction and in recovery, females show greater growth in strengths, despite females reporting fewer recovery strengths during active addiction than males, and males have greater reductions in barriers to recovery compared to females. Multivariate analyses show that strengths specifically related to prosocial meaningful activities are found to be highly significant for growth of recovery capital amongst males, whereas strengths related to both prosocial meaningful activities and general health management seem particularly relevant for growth of recovery capital amongst females.

Conclusions

The research presents information on the considerable disparities between men and women in various categories of recovery capital that best predict overall advances in recovery strength. Items related to prosocial meaningful activities were found to be the most important in predicting men's strength growth. Males in this group, on the other hand, reported much greater rates of justice-related barriers than females. Furthermore, whereas characteristics linked to general health management were revealed to be the most important predictors of better strength gain in women, our sample reported significantly higher rates of barriers related to psychological health and domestic violence than males. Although more research is needed to confirm the findings given in this publication, our findings highlight the need of adopting gender-specific tactics in recovery community organisations, as well as more research into gender differences in addiction and recovery careers.