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9 - Natural Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder

Patterns, Contexts, and the Behavioral Economics of Change

from Part II - Meso Level

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2021

By
Jalie A. Tucker
Edited by
Jalie A. Tucker  and
Katie Witkiewitz
Jalie A. Tucker
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Katie Witkiewitz
Affiliation:
University of New Mexico
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Summary

Although treatment samples dominate research on recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD), natural recovery is the dominant recovery pathway in the population with problems. This chapter summarizes key natural recovery research findings: (1) Most individuals with AUD never receive treatment; associations among AUD severity, help-seeking, and recovery are complex; and influences on help-seeking and behavior change are not wholly redundant. (2) Drinking practices and improved functioning are not highly correlated, indicating domains for defining recovery require expansion. (3) Moderation outcomes are more common in natural than treatment-assisted recovery attempts, in part because most treatments emphasize abstinence. (4) Compared to abstinence and relapse, moderation outcomes of natural recovery attempts are associated with distinct variability in drinking practices and monetary spending patterns that increase access to valued non-drinking rewards. This variability in AUD problem severity, help-seeking, and recovery patterns merits consideration in defining recovery and guiding services across the AUD spectrum.

Keywords

alcohol use disorderrecoverynatural recoveryself-changebehavioral economicsbehavioral allocationmonetary spendingalcohol-free rewardsmoderation drinkinghelp-seeking
Type
Chapter
Information
Dynamic Pathways to Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder
Meaning and Methods
 , pp. 159 - 178
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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