Addiction Studies Research Proposal

Running head: research project 1

research project 8

Research Project

RQ1: Do individuals who have been diagnosed with any type of Substance Use Disorder(SUD) and experienced an episode of relapse, regularly attend Self-Help Groups(SHG) such as AA, 12-Step therapy, SUDs individual therapy and/or SUDs group therapy?

RQ2: If the individual regularly attended a SHG, such as AA, 12-Step therapy, SUDs individual and/or group therapy…after relapsing and are now in a stage of sobriety…. what can they say attributed to their sobriety?

METHODOLOGY

The explorative research will take place in 2021. The participants will include adults of 18 years and above from both sexes and all races with a sample size of at least 50 participants. The sample will be drawn from individuals who are participating or have participated in SHGs such as alcoholics anonymous, 12-step therapy, SUD individual therapy, or SUD group therapy. Questionnaires will be used in the data collection and they will be delivered in person. Consultation will be done with the participants to determine the appropriate time when the questionnaires can be delivered in person. Scheduling will be done to ensure that there is no clash between two participants and to ensure that there is ample time for each of the participants to answer the questions. As compensation for their participation in the study, the participants will be offered a Walmart gift card and an appreciation note upon the completion of the questionnaire.

Approval to carry out the research will be obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Quantitative data will be collected using the treatment effectiveness Assessment (TEA) (Ling, Farabee, Liepa & Wu, 2012). There are 4 question in the TEA dealing with substance abuse, health, lifestyle, and community. The scale is from 1 to 10 with 1 being poor and 10 being much better. The TEA is aimed at analyzing the progress that the substance abuse addict has made since they started attending the therapy sessions.

The measurements of demographics will be gender, race/ethnicity, and age. The participants will have an option not to answer these questions. The extent of substance abuse will be measured by the quantity and frequency of abusing the drugs. The therapy session attended will also be documented plus the frequency and the duration which the addict has been attending them. Data to specify whether the addict is still undergoing therapy, or he stopped will also be provided.

I will want to identify the different types of substance abuse disorders to outline the diversity of individuals who have been diagnosed with the many different types of SUD’s. that attend SHG’s. The individual completing the questionnaire will have to identify whether they have relapsed. Determining whether the individual attending the self-help group.

Participants will identify which type of therapy for substance abuse addicts they attended. Did they attend AA, 12-step therapy, SUD individual therapy or SUD group therapy, finally the individual participating in the research will need to identify the many steps the SHG offered that assisted in their recovery and how it helped in maintaining their sobriety.

Before filling the questionnaires, the participants will be provided with a consent form which shows that they are agreeing to participate in the study and are aware of all the factors involved. The questionnaires will be anonymous and instead of using the names of the participants, codes will be used to identify them. Consent form will be at the top followed by the survey questions and the questionnaire. They will be numbered to ensure that the participants complete all the forms and questions.

References

Ling, W., Farabee, D., Liepa, D., & Wu, L. T. (2012). The Treatment Effectiveness Assessment (TEA): an efficient, patient-centered instrument for evaluating progress in recovery from addiction. Substance abuse and rehabilitation, 3, 129.

Melemis, S. M. (2015). Focus: Addiction: Relapse Prevention and the Five Rules of Recovery. The Yale journal of biology and medicine, 88(3), 325.