[Natural recovery and treatment recovery from drug and alcohol abuse]

This study examines the concept of natural recovery (without formal treatment) from problems associated with alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and heroin abuse, each one alone or in any combination. Two groups of males (40 Ss between 18 and 60 years of age) and two groups of females (19 Ss between 18 and 55 years of age) with at least one year of abstinence were studied. The main issues considered were: reason for attending treatment or ceasing the use of substances, factors related to maintenance of abstinence, and difficulties and threats associated with abstinence. Several significant differences were found between groups with and without treatment, as well as between males and females, particularly regarding factors related to the maintenance of abstinence. In both cases family and affective links appear as the most relevant factors in the decision to stop using substances. On the other hand, commitment to one's goals and life project are the principal motives for maintaining abstinence or moderate consumption. This reflects the progressive transition from cognitive and emotional processes with external referents to processes with internal referents, associated with personal achievement.