Visualizing the Influence of Social Networks on Recovery: A Mixed-Methods Social Identity Mapping Study with Recovering Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Social recovery capital (SRC) refers to resources and supports gained through relationships and is vital to adolescent addiction recovery. Much is known about how substance use relates to social networks, but little is known about how other dimensions of social networks influence recovery (e.g., network size/exposure, degree of conflict). Methods: This mixed-methods study sampled 28 adolescents who received treatment for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorder (14–19 yrs.: 71% male; M = 17.32 yrs., SD = 1.33; White 82%): 20 were recovery high school (RHS) students. Adolescents completed a social identity map for addiction recovery (SIM-AR), survey, and interview. Qualitative data were content analyzed and the data from the SIM-AR were quantified. Results: On average, participants reported belonging to five distinct groups within their network (Range, 2–9; SD = 1.63; M = 27.89 people, SD = 20.09). Of their social network connections, 51% drank alcohol and 46% used other substances, on average. Larger networks involved more conflict (r = 0.57). Participants were more likely to spend more time with groups that had greater proportions of non-substance-using members. These linkages were stronger for RHS than for non-RHS students. Qualitative analyses revealed that youth reported their recovery-oriented groups as supportive, but some reported that their substance-using friends also supported their recovery. Discussion: SIM-AR was a useful measurement tool, and, through qualitative interviews, we identified unique aspects of youths’ social networks important for further examination. Research with recovering youth should examine SRC-related elements within their networks including relationship quality, belonging, and conflict, alongside the substance use behaviors of network members.

Keywords:

• Addiction
• adolescent
• recovery capital
• social capital
• social network

Acknowledgments

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Note, we use the term social networks throughout the manuscript to broadly refer to the composition of social groups among recovering youth in this study and not to indicate we are conducting the traditional quantitative form of “social network analysis”.

2 Originally, the study planned to use group study visits, but procedures for most participants moved online and/or to a one-on-one format to accommodate the COVID pandemic. Remote study visits were conducted over Zoom and recorded.

3 Because these groups were large social groups with no finite bounds (i.e., “recovering people”) and not necessarily connected directly to youths’ immediate social networks, participants could not identify how many people were group members or the level of substance use among these groups. These groups were excluded from the summary statistics of group size and AOD use ratios.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K01AA028536 to Emily A. Hennessy.