The Phenotype of Recovery VII: Delay Discounting Mediates the Relationship Between Time in Recovery and Recovery Progress

Overview

Journal J Subst Abuse Treat

Specialty Psychiatry

Date 2021 Dec 13

PMID 34895955

Citations 3

Authors

William H Craft

Allison N Tegge

Liqa N Athamneh

Devin C Tomlinson

Roberta Freitas-Lemos

Warren K Bickel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Substance use disorders (SUDs) remain challenging maladies to treat in the United States and impose significant societal costs. Despite these challenges, a significant number of individuals endorse being in recovery from SUD. The scientific understanding of SUD recovery has evolved to include not only improvements in substance use but also improvements in personal wellness and psychosocial functioning. The devaluation of future rewards (delay discounting; DD) is broadly associated with SUD inception and outcomes. We sought to investigate the relationship between DD, time in recovery, and recovery progress.

Methods: We conducted an online assessment of 127 individuals in recovery from SUD who the study recruited via the International Quit and Recovery Registry (IQRR). The research team obtained measures of recovery progress via the Addiction Recovery Questionnaire (ARQ) and the Treatment Effectiveness Assessment (TEA). Additionally, the study collected measures of DD, time in recovery, and endorsement of abstinence in recovery (i.e., requiring abstinence vs. not). We utilized linear regression to test for associations among these variables and performed a mediation analysis to test the role of DD in mediating the relationship between time in recovery and measures of recovery progress.

Results: Time in recovery was positively associated with the ARQ (p < .001) and TEA (p < .001). Furthermore, an individual's delay discounting rate mediated the relationship between time in recovery and ARQ/TEA. Of the participants, 66% endorsed recovery requiring total abstinence from alcohol and drugs. Last, through an exhaustive model selection, the study did not find an individual's endorsement of abstinence in recovery to be a primary predictor of recovery progress.

Conclusions: This study presents evidence that, for individuals in recovery, the temporal view (i.e., focus on immediate vs. future rewards) is a significant influence on recovery progress. Additionally, an individual's endorsement of abstinence in recovery was not significantly associated with recovery progress, suggesting the importance of a holistic view of SUD recovery. These findings contribute to the understanding of recovery as a multidimensional process and provide further support for DD as a behavioral marker of addiction.

Citing Articles

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toward substance use recovery: Does delay discounting mediate the relationship between physical activity and quality of life?.

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The phenotype of recovery XII: A reinforcer pathology perspective on associations between delay discounting and pain catastrophizing in substance use disorder recovery.

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The Phenotype of Recovery X: Associations between delay discounting, regulatory flexibility, and remission from substance use disorder.

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