School of Enrollment and Perceptions of Life Satisfaction among Adolescents Experiencing Substance Use Disorders

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study continues to build evidence for the effectiveness of Recovery High Schools as a continuing care intervention for youth experiencing substance use disorders. The study examined associations of life satisfaction and student perceptions of social support based on gender and school enrollment in a sample of 246 high school adolescents. Methods: Study participants were adolescents 14–19 years of age who met the criteria for a substance use disorder diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5^th ed.; DSM-5). This cross-sectional analysis used data from the larger Effectiveness of Recovery High Schools as Continuing Care Study (NIDA, 5R01DA029785-02). Results: Results indicate that school of enrollment made an independent contribution to student’s life satisfaction. Students enrolled in Recovery High Schools reported higher levels of life satisfaction when compared to those enrolled in non-recovery high schools. There were no significant differences in levels of life satisfaction by gender. Discussion: These results continue to build evidence that Recovery High School environments may increase levels of life satisfaction associated with engagement and retention for youth in recovery. Mental health professionals, educators, and policymakers should remain aware of the interconnectedness of school environment and adolescents’ recovery efforts and take steps to ensure access to Recovery High Schools as a means to effective recovery efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• Adolescents
• substance use disorder
• recovery high schools
• life satisfaction
• social support
• recovery

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported in part by a cooperative agreement “Effectiveness of Recovery High Schools as Continuing Care” (R01DA029785, Finch, Moberg and Grabowski, PIs) with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Its content does not reflect the official policy or position of any federal agency.