“I was already there once”: Cumulative attempt capital of marginalized women exiting substance use and street prostitution contributes to their recovery capital
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Despite a move to view substance use as a disease of the brain, relapse into drugs is still often viewed as a personal failure. Low recovery capital has been used to explain relapse among certain marginalized populations. Recovery capital is a recent framework that refers to the individual's sum of all internal and external assets that may assist in their recovery process. It includes four categories: physical, human, social, and cultural capital. However, this framework does not relate to the role of actual relapses in the recovery process, despite their common occurrence. To bridge this gap, in-depth interviews with 29 women formerly engaged in substance use and street prostitution in a large urban area were used to probe women about their relapse and recovery experiences. The current study demonstrates the value in repeat recovery setbacks, what I term “cumulative attempt capital”: lessons learned from previous recovery attempts. I argue that previous attempts improve women's social and professional networks, help them learn from past mistakes, improve and maintain their health, and provide them with a sense of self-efficacy. This research expands our understanding of the positive role failed attempts play in one's recovery. Such reframing by service providers can alleviate a sense of shame and low self-worth for women in street prostitution and substance use and has implications for policy and program development.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Community Psychology publishes original quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research; theoretical papers; empirical reviews; reports of innovative community programs or policies; and first person accounts of stakeholders involved in research, programs, or policy. The journal encourages submissions of innovative multi-level research and interventions, and encourages international submissions. The journal also encourages the submission of manuscripts concerned with underrepresented populations and issues of human diversity. The American Journal of Community Psychology publishes research, theory, and descriptions of innovative interventions on a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to: individual, family, peer, and community mental health, physical health, and substance use; risk and protective factors for health and well being; educational, legal, and work environment processes, policies, and opportunities; social ecological approaches, including the interplay of individual family, peer, institutional, neighborhood, and community processes; social welfare, social justice, and human rights; social problems and social change; program, system, and policy evaluations; and, understanding people within their social, cultural, economic, geographic, and historical contexts.