Sense of coherence as a recovery capital in recovery from substance use disorders

Recovery from substance use disorders without treatment has long been of interest to researchers and practitioners. The aim of the study was to examine the role of sense of coherence and recovery capital in long-term recovery without treatment and the association between the two concepts.

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 229 Israeli respondents, 134 of them self-changers and 95 treatment-changers. The respondents completed the Addiction Severity Index, the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and the Recovery Capital Questionnaire.

Significant differences between the two groups were found. The self-changers had a higher sense of coherence (p < .001) and reported more cannabis use. No significant group differences were found in recovery capital. The treatment-changers had experienced significantly more child abuse (p < .001) and suffered from severe psychiatric problems (p = .019), compared with the self-changers. Significant correlations were found between higher sense of coherence and lower psychiatric severity (p < .001), lower rate of child abuse (p < .001), and self-change (p = .037). A strong relationship was found between sense of coherence and recovery capital (p < .001), showing that the two concepts were moderately to highly interrelated.

The findings signify the central role of sense of coherence in recovery and the importance of strengthening sense of coherence, which may promote health-related outcomes.