The definitions and meanings of recovery and relapse for college students in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction

Addiction to alcohol and other drugs is an increasingly pervasive problem on college and university campuses. As this problem grows, it is important to document the experiences of college students who have overcome their addiction and who are becoming productive members of their campus communities. Both the scientific and popular literature contain many references to the risk factors which contribute to addiction, methods for preventing addiction, and the processes for intervening on addiction when it occurs. However, there exists little information regarding the way in which individuals recover from addiction and/or how to prevent a return to addiction after a period of abstinence. This trend holds true for all populations of addicted individuals, but is particularly alarming when considered with regard to collegiate populations.

Using focus group methods, this study documents the experiences of 28 recovering students at select college/universities across the United States to provide one of the first accounts of the experience of recovering from addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs. The findings of this study suggest that current models of addiction, recovery, and relapse are limited in their definitions of recovery and relapse. In addition, the participant's definitions and meanings of recovery and relapse provide insight into the study populations’ successes and struggles with the developmental tasks of this time period. Findings from this study underscore the importance of further research into the processes and meanings of recovery from addiction for all populations and suggest that clinical and therapeutic methods for dealing with addiction can and should be revised when working with collegiate populations.