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An Exploratory Case S tudy of Undergraduate S tudents in Recovery: An A pplication of Recovery Capital during R eentry. Christine Pesetski, Ph.D. Assistant Dean of Students Duke University Higher Education Case Managers Association Emory University June 18, 2015. Overview.
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An Exploratory Case Study of Undergraduate Students in Recovery: An Application of Recovery Capital during Reentry Christine Pesetski, Ph.D. Assistant Dean of Students Duke University Higher Education Case Managers Association Emory University June 18, 2015
Overview • Background • Research Questions • Study Design • Findings • Conclusions • Implications • Limitations
Why this study? • Students are returning to college campuses and their experiences in recovery matter. • There is no literature that acknowledges this group of students. • Research focuses on the problem of substance abuse for colleges and universities, but not on the student experience. • This study adds to what is known about reentry and college substance abuse.
Research Questions • How do undergraduate students in recovery who are reentering the university after an approved leave of absence experience the first year of reenrollment? • How do undergraduate students in recovery develop and maintain recovery capital? • How does the college setting and campus culture influence undergraduate students’ ability to maintain their recovery?
Literature • Substance abuse prevalence • College environment and substance abuse • Sub-cultures • Athletes • Greek life • Peer relationships • Academic impact • College Life Study at the University of Maryland (Arriaet al., 2012a, Arriaet al., 2013) • Recovery
Recovery Definition Recovery is defined as a reduction in substance abuse to moderate levels (or abstinence) and changing the negative behaviors associated with the individual’s substance abuse (White, 2007).
Study Design • Case Study Design • 4 cases • 4 employee experts • Data Collection • Interviews • Document Analysis • Data Analysis • Basic Interpretive (Merriam, 1998) • Theory driven coding (axial coding) • Case Narratives • Cross-Case Analysis
Employee Experts • Michal G.: • Substance Abuse Treatment Provider • 20 plus years at SPU • IOP for young adults • Insider to recovery community • Provides treatment for SPU students • Winston: • Academic Dean • Over 40 years at SPU • Responsible for drop and add, leave of absence • Mentor students upon return Case • Bob: • Wellness Center Director • Environmental Management • Harm reduction approach • Trying to start a recovery community • Phoenix: • Residential Dean • 3 year live on requirement • 20 plus years at SPU • Manages substance free residence hall
Findings • Implementing habits learned during leave of absence for reentry success. • Utilizing university support resources to maximize reentry success. • Strategies that enhanced or undermined mental and physical health. • Redefining peer, dating, and parental relationships.
Conclusions • Developing quality relationships with others supports reentry success. • Students must implement lessons learned during leave of absence to ensure continued growth during reentry. • Fitting into the university social environment involves substance use. • Recovery capital provides a compelling lens to understand reentry for this population of students.
Implications for Theory Developed using a grounded theory approach from three studies with drug and alcohol addicted men (Cloud & Granfield, 1994; Granfield & Cloud, 1996, 2001).
Implications for Future Research • Exploring recovery capital among college students. • Applying recovery capital to new and returning students. • Using the broader definition of recovery in future studies involving college students. • This work should be connected to the work being done in Neuroscience regarding brain development.
Implications for Practice • Consider the environment and ways to manage the high-risk substance users. • Harm Reduction Models • Environmental Management • Parental Involvement • Develop and/ or evaluate leave of absence policies. • Sharing departure and return information broadly (within FERPA and culture). • Time away is valuable (recommend at least 2 semesters) • Provide reorientation and welcome back events. • Initial return events • On-going events including mentorship
Limitations • Alumni participants instead of currently enrolled students. • SPU is a highly selective university in the South and students want to return to this school and earn their degree. • Identifying this population of students is very difficult.
