Recovery capital: a concept analysis

Recovery capital has emerged as an important concept for understanding how individuals sustain recovery and improve health outcomes across addiction recovery, chronic disease management, and healthy aging. However, the concept remains inconsistently defined, and its conceptual structure has not been fully clarified.

This study used Walker and Avant's concept analysis method to synthesize the conceptual characteristics of recovery capital. Literature was systematically searched in PubMed and Web of Science from database inception to January 5, 2026. Following screening and eligibility assessment, 28 articles were included in the final analysis.

Recovery capital was conceptualized as a dynamic, strengths-based, multidimensional, and individualized construct involving the interaction of personal, relational, and contextual resources throughout recovery processes. The defining attributes of recovery capital included strengths-based resources, personalization, multidimensionality, interaction, and dynamic development. Antecedents included the presence of recovery-related threats, catalytic events initiating recovery processes, availability of supportive resources, and temporal conditions for resource accumulation. Consequences involved multidimensional restoration of functioning, psycho-social reconstruction and empowerment, improvement in long-term health outcomes and quality of life, and the discovery of meaning and purpose in life.

This concept analysis provided a synthesized understanding of recovery capital and clarified its defining attributes, antecedents, consequences, empirical referents, and conceptual boundaries. The findings may contribute to the conceptual development and interdisciplinary application of recovery capital in healthy aging, with particular relevance for maintaining functional ability and social participation in aging populations. Further research is needed to operationalize and validate recovery capital in the older adults.