Identifying the Main Components of Substance-Related Addiction Recovery Groups

Figures & data

Table 1 Moos’ (2008) important components of a 12-step recovery group based on four key theories in addiction.

Theory	Explanation	Related Components
Social Control	Strong bonds with significant others encourage individuals to maintain their recovery.	Bonding and support
		Goal direction
		Structure to follow
Social Learning	Having abstinent-oriented social networks provide individuals with people to follow and admire.	Observing and imitating norms and role-models
		Expectations of positive and negative consequences
Behavioural Choice	Being involved in other rewarding pursuits such as social activities can be protective against the rewarding nature of substance misuse.	Involvement in protective activities
		Effective rewards
Stress and Coping	Building an individual’s skills will help them develop more adaptive coping strategies.	Identifying high-risk situations
		Building self-efficacy and self-confidence
		Developing coping skills

Table 2. Demographics characteristics of the three group types.

Demographic	Group Type
	12-step	Structured non 12-step	Unstructured non 12-step
Age (M)	45.78	41.92	40.00
Gender (%) Male Female Prefer not to say	52.1 41.7 6.3	66.0 32.1 1.9	78.0 20.0 2.0
Previous Substance Used (%) Alcohol Drugs Both	37.5 25.0 37.5	32.1 20.8 47.2	32.0 16.0 52.0

Figure 1. A bar graph showing mean ‘importance’ scores for all 12 components. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

Figure 2. A bar graph showing mean ‘offered’ scores for all 12 components. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals.

Table 3. Paired-sample t-tests showing differences between ‘offered’ and ‘importance’ ratings for each component.

Components	Mean Difference	t	Significance (2-tailed)
Developing self-confidence	−2.53	−2.51	.013*
Developing coping skills	−2.80	−3.11	.002*
Giving back	−3.52	−3.07	.003*
Sober lifestyle	−0.44	−0.39	.696
Bonding and support	−0.08	−0.07	.947
Goal to focus on	−2.31	−2.12	.036*
Available role-models	0.74	0.59	.555
Identify high-risk situations	−1.32	−0.95	.345
Structure to follow	−3.18	−2.33	.021*
Reminder of consequences	−1.18	−0.92	.361
Alternative activities	−1.77	−1.23	.219
Gaining rewards	2.52	1.87	.063

Note. Components are listed in order of their main rated importance. Mean difference is calculated by subtracting importance ratings from offered ratings. *p < .05.

Table 4. The 14 important components of addiction recovery groups.

Components
Bonding and support
Goal direction
Structure to follow
Following a sober lifestyle Available role models
Expectations of positive and negative consequences
Involvement in protective activities
Effective rewards
Identifying high-risk situations
Building self-confidence
Developing coping skills Giving back Presence of like-minded individuals Developing self-awareness and reflection skills

Moos, R. H. (2008). Active ingredients of substance use-focused self-help groups. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 103(3), 387–396. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2007.02111.x

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