Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: Although some evidence exists that African Americans have acknowledged higher numbers of alcohol problems than Caucasians, very little research exists on the factors that may influence the effectiveness of treatment among African Americans, such as readiness to change, coping behaviors, and quality of life (Conigliaro et al., 2000).The present study is focused on understanding the psychological processes involved in the recovery process for African Americans and the influence that results from the relationships that may exist between rock-bottom experiences, readiness to change, and religiosity.The body of research on the notion of "rock-bottom" and the combined impact that readiness to change and religious beliefs may have on alcohol recovery are quite limited.The overall aim of this study was to examine the impact that experiencing "rock-bottom" has on one's readiness to change and in turn on one's ability to stay abstinent from alcohol after treatment.Religious beliefs and practices were examined in the proposed model as a potential moderator.The sample was comprised of 168 African-Americans who participated in Project MATCH, a national multi-site random clinical trial funded by NIAAA.This study was a secondary analysis of the data from this project.The analysis was conducted using path analysis.The findings showed a positive, significant relationship between rock-bottom experiences and awareness of the drinking problem.The study also revealed readiness to change as a significant predictor of post-treatment abstinence from alcohol.Readiness to change was also found to have a significant inverse relationship with post-treatment alcohol abstinence self-efficacy.This relationship was moderated by religion.Clinically, these findings suggest that processing experiences and feelings associated with "hitting rock-bottom" may be useful in raising clients' awareness of the dire impact that their alcohol use has had on their lives and may combat precontemplative denial.In addition when trying to motivate aftercare clients for change, highlighting recent alcohol-related losses and increasing their awareness of their drinking problem may be effective.Future research is needed to further understand the aspects of religion that play a role in the recovery process for African Americans and the gender differences that may exist.
Author: Kyna D Griffith
Institution: University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2339675552