Self-help Group Participation and its Impact on Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes

The study of social connectedness, an important aspect of informal and formal social support, may provide insights into social functioning, and how networks and links can be utilized to contribute to positive outcomes for individual, groups, and communities. Social network can take various forms and sizes. One such network is self-help groups. Studies have shown that self-help group participation can actually empower vulnerable persons. The purpose of this presentation is to examine the effect of self-help group participation on the treatment outcomes of persons receiving substance abuse treatment.

Methods: This study is part of a larger study called Treatment Outcomes and Performance Pilot Studies Enhancement (TOPPS II) funded by SAMHSA. The original study employed a single-group quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design with repeated measures. A total of 8661 samples were used for this analysis. Results: Preliminary analysis of the data has shown that there is a significant decrease in the frequency of alcohol and other drugs use as the frequency of days in self-help group participation increases. Conclusion: Results from this study will have implications for treatment providers as well as public health policy makers at local, state, and federal levels as they think about fair and equitable allocation of limited resources and develop and reform new treatment programs