Sense of Community among Female Residents of a Trauma-Informed Sober Living Home

ABSTRACT

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) and domestic and/or sexual violence (DSV) co-occur at high rates. Although some studies have examined sober living homes (SLHs), no research to date has evaluated SLHs specifically designed for women with histories of SUDS and DSV. Objective: The purpose of this article is to present data from an exploratory analysis of the association between sense of community (SOC) and mental health symptoms within a unique trauma-informed and gender-responsive SLH (i.e., Support, Education, Empowerment, and Directions [SEEDs]). Method: Participants included current or former residents of SEEDs (N = 28) who completed surveys assessing SOC and mental health symptoms. The sample was predominantly White (85.7%), heterosexual (64.3%), low income (71.4% < $20,000 per year), had children (67.9%), and reported a history of incarceration (71.4%). Results: On average women reported high levels of SOC. Higher SOC was related to lower posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms and higher coping self-efficacy and sexual assault resistance self-efficacy, with large effect sizes. Conclusions: Trauma-informed SLHs may promote positive mental health symptoms for women with histories of DSV and SUDs via SOC. Additional research is needed to more rigorously evaluate these preliminary findings. Further, longitudinal, prospective research is needed to better understand the process by which SOC develops and mechanisms by which SOC promotes (and/or is impacted by) positive mental health symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic violence
• sense of community
• sexual assault
• sober living homes
• substance abuse

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the SEEDs staff and to the women who so graciously gave of their time and self to us. The authors would also like to express their appreciation to the students who worked on this study in its early stages and/or in other capacities: Dani Blevens, Tina Cannon, Sara Chapo, McKenzie Dow, Kristiana Dixon, Britta Ekdahl, Eleanor McKenzie, Ashley Nichols, Jennifer Turner, Kimberly Walker, and Amy Winkler.